Levi Jung-Ruivivar turns focus to SEA Games, Asian Championships

MANILA, Philippines -- Following an Olympic debut to remember in Paris, gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar is setting her sights on the Southeast Asian Games and the Asian Championships, as she seeks improvement and maturity in her performances.

Ruivivar had a historic stint in the Paris Olympics, becoming one of three Filipina gymnasts to compete in the Games.

Ruivivar, Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo are the first Filipina gymnasts to compete in the Olympics in 60 years.

In an interview with One News’ The Big Story on Friday, the 18-year-old said that aside from her studies and competing for Stanford, she is eyeing to participate in the SEA Games and the Asian Championships for the Philippines.

“There’s a lot coming up, there’s so many things to do in the next four years before LA 2028. I’m going to Stanford in the fall, so just adjusting to college life. Adjusting to that, competing for my college is very exciting,” she said.

“In addition to that, being able to train elite so that I can compete in the SEA Games, hopefully, and the Asian Championships, those are the two goals of right now. I’m really hopeful to continue to mature as an athlete and as a person, in order to hopefully win some gold medals in those competitions and bring home some medals for the Philippines.”

The young gymnast ranked highest among the three Filipinas in the all-around qualifications in Paris.

She ended her Olympic debut ranked 40th with a score of 51.099, tied with Malabuyo. Finnegan finished in 47th place.

And with years to go before Los Angeles 2028, she will continue working on her performance.

“Going into 2028 in LA, I’m hoping to just continue training, building my performance so that hopefully I can be at my best in that competition and make the Philippines proud.”

With a Paris stint to remember -- she even had to skip a day of training after a “severe allergic reaction” -- the young gymnast said that she will be bringing everything she learned in the Games moving forward.

“It was just a crazy experience. I mean, I feel I’ve learned so much. There were a lot of ups and downs… once I got to the Olympics there were ups and downs as well… That was a whole experience for myself,” she stressed.

Meanwhile, Ruivivar said that having a “very organized program” would result in the sport being able to produce more high-level gymnasts in the county.

“I would say that the main thing that I know from training in the US system is starting a very organized program of getting girls from all over the Philippines together in one place and having monthly training camps,” the Los Angeles-born gymnast underscored.

“I think that’s incredibly important because you know who your competitors are, bringing in people from all over the Philippines and you’re able to kind of pick out the more talented athletes and then also build the right technique, right form and the right skills that ultimately lead to higher performances,” she added.

“That starts from a very young age. It’s very hard to relearn technique in gymnastics because once you have incorrect technique it makes it difficult to recorrect in the future once you kinda build on that muscle memory.

I could definitely say doing monthly clinics and getting the girls all together and really starting to set that up for the future would be incredibly important.”