FIL-AMERICAN teener Levi Ruivivar will join Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo in the challenging women’s individual all-around event of the Paris Olympic Games in July.
In Manila since Monday for a whirlwind visit after clinching a bronze in women’s uneven bars in the Asian meet in Tashkent, Uzbekistan over the weekend, Ruivivar confirmed that she was given an Olympic “berth” after winding up second overall in her forte in the recent FIG World Cup series.
“I was informed by the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines that I got an Olympic ‘berth’ for placing second overall in the women’s uneven bars in the FIG World Cup series,” the gymnast said in an interview Wednesday night. “This is going to be pretty amazing.”
An incoming freshman at the prestigious Stanford University, Ruivivar, who saw action in all four legs of the FIG World Cup series, earned a total of 62 points to clinch the No. 2 spot in the uneven bars, thanks to her runner-up finish in the last Doha, Qatar leg worth 30 points.
The country’s youngest qualifier to the Olympic Games was set to display her skills for the first time before local fans yesterday at the GAP gym in Intramuros.
Accompanied by his father, Anthony, she paid a courtesy call on Philippine Sports Commission chief Richard Bachmann last Tuesday in the company of GAP president Cynthia Carrion and fellow Olympic-bound bet Carlos Edriel Yulo and younger sibling Karl Eldrew.
While she welcomed the development, Ruivivar said this meant that she needed to make upgrades on events such as the floor exercise, balance beam and vault to excel in the difficult all-around event.
“It is going to be very, very tough (in Paris). I am focused on my training, do as much as I can and give it my all. I need to give my absolute best effort in every routine and every performance,” she stressed.
