PH gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar on the way to Manila to finally meet Marcos after 2024 Paris Olympics
Pinay gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar is flying to Manila to meet President Ferdinand "Bongbong" Marcos Jr. after missing the homecoming parade for Filipino athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics as she was "never" informed about it.
The athlete shared a video of herself before her flight on Instagram on Wednesday, Aug. 21. "Can’t contain my excitement!!! Thank you to the President and his office for making this dream come true. Can’t wait to see you all soon!"
In her Instagram stories, she called it an honor to meet Marcos and celebrate the recently concluded Games. "What an honor. Thank you to the President for making this dream come true. Can't wait to see everyone," she wrote in a post.
This comes a few days after Ruivivar opened up about feeling "really hurt" after not being informed of the event hosted by Marcos and the First Family at the Malacañang Palace last Aug. 13. "I truly wish from the bottom of my heart that I could have attended and been part of this event," she said. "[B]ut unfortunately I was never informed that I was invited or presented with the opportunity to go."
Ruivivar recalled hearing from a member of the Olympic delegation that "some sort of event was taking place in Manila to meet the President" and shared a screenshot of a conversation on messaging platform WhatsApp about it. She said she got a message the following day stating it was only for medalists: gymnast Carlos Yulo and boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.
"I responded inquiring if that was in fact correct because I had heard all Olympians were invited," she shared. "I never received a response or further information. And I still haven't had any communication about it."
Ruivivar said she was surprised to see all Filipino Olympians in the parade, except for her and her fellow gymnasts Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo.
"I was really hurt considering this was a once in a lifetime opportunity I missed out on," she said. "I want to be part of the celebration with my fellow Olympians and to share in the excitement of the success of this Olympics with my country, the Philippines."
Finnegan and Malabuyo likewise previously said they weren't informed about the parade.
Cynthia Carrion, the president of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP), has apologized to the gymnasts in a press conference, explaining that she was only informed about the event at the last minute.
"I'm sorry, we didn't get advice," she said, facing Malabuyo and Finnegan. "You should have joined all our events."
"Had I known, of course, I'd be so proud of them being with me. Not only one, but four," she said, pertaining to Yulo, who won the historic double gold in Paris 2024.
Ruivivar, Finnegan, and Malabuyo are the first female gymnasts to represent the Philippines in the Olympics in six decades.
At Paris 2024, Ruivivar placed 40th, Malabuyo 41st, and Finnegan 47th at the women's artistic gymnastics all-around.