GYMNASTICS chief Cynthia Carrion is taking a bold and forward-looking move, fielding a young but promising national women’s squad, led by GAP Challenge Cup all-around champ Lauren Supnet, in the 12th Seniors Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships starting in Jecheon, South Korea today.
Most of them 16-years-old or younger, Supnet, Haylee Garcia, Batang Pinoy standout Cadyn Nicole Nyland, who all train in the US; and Zayanna Enriquez Llya Escoses form the senior team that hopes to match, if not exceed, the country’s previous result in the 2027 edition in Tashkent, Uzbekistan.
Both Paris Olympic Games veterans, Emma Malabuyo won a gold medal in the floor exercise and a bronze in the individual all-around while Levi Ruivivar took bronze in the uneven bars at the Gymnastics Sports Place in the Uzbek capital.
Joining Supnet and company is the national junior team made up of Elizabeth Antone, Cielo Esliza, Maxine Bondoc, Sabina Tayag and Tallulah Antonino-Nadres.
A rising star in the Seattle-based Metropolitan Gymnastics Academy, Supnet “is grateful for the opportunity to represent the Philippines while also feeling excited to compete alongside her Philippine teammates for the first time,” according to her mother, Wilhelmina.
“Her goals are to have a strong showing for the all-around competition while enjoying every moment of her first international assignment,” added the elder Supnet, who is the niece of local legal eagle Atty. Raymond Fortun.
Mrs. Supnet said that her daughter recently competed in the US Gymnastics Region 2 Championships, which included Washington, Idaho, Oregon, Hawaii, Alaska, and Montana. She topped the individual all-around, balance beam, floor, and vault, and also earned a silver medal on the uneven bars.
Aiming to do well in her international debut for the country, the gymnast has also been working with a “sports mental health therapist” to enhance her mental toughness for the pressures that await her in the Asian meet, according to her mother.
Nyland, who trains at the Pacific Reign Club in Seattle, won four gold and one silver medals in the 2024 Batang Pinoy National Championships in Puerto Princesa, Palawan. She topped the balance beam and floor exercise and won silvers in the vault and individual all-around in the GAP Challenge Cup.
Set for today are the team and individual all-around finals as well as the qualification for the apparatus, with the eight top qualifiers in the floor exercise, balance beam, uneven bars and vault advancing to the finals on Saturday and Sunday.
