[EDITOR'S NOTE: Get to know the 22 Filipino athletes bound for the 2024 Paris Olympics through this SPIN.ph series]
ONE of the least known in the Philippine Olympic team is Levi Jung-Ruivivar who will compete in gymnastics less than a year after she switched nationalities. Before joining the Philippine team, she represented the US in several international events.
At 18 years old, she is the youngest among the 21 athletes going to Paris, but her career record is long as she has been competing since she was 10.
With her in the delegation, the country will have three gymnasts in the Games. The other two are Carlos Yulo and Aleah Finnegan.
READ Bambol: Philippines will surpass Tokyo medal count in Paris Games
Ruivivar's link with the Philippines can be traced to her grandfather who is Filipino. Her father, Anthony, is half Filipino and her mother, Yvonne Jung, is American. Both are actors in the US with Anthony appearing in dramas such as Criminal Minds and CSI: Crime Scene Investigation.
Born in Los Angeles, Ruivivar was said to be already tumbling when she was 18 months old, a sign of things to come. She was trained early and then fully embraced the sport as she grew up.
At age 10, Ruivivar captured first place in the all-around, and in the uneven bars, and second in the vault in the Combs-La-Ville in France after collecting several victories in the American gymnastics scene.
Ruivivar was competing for the US when an opportunity to carry the Philippine flag was presented to her by Cliff Parks, a coach of the Philippine national team.
She grabbed the chance and formally became eligible to compete for the Philippines in September 2023 with a spot in the Paris Olympics her ultimate target. That would not have been possible in the U.S. which has some of the best gymnasts in the world.
Now representing the Philippines, Ruivivar got the Olympic spot with a respectable showing in the FIG World Cup Series during the first quarter of 2024 where she collected 62 points in the uneven bars.
Her talent did not escape American coaches and she was recruited by NCAA Division 1 powerhouse Stanford University, to which she committed to compete next year.
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