ARMED with a Philippine passport, another promising Filipino-American gymnast, Lauren Supnet, is keen on representing the country in the international arena.
Atty. Raymond Fortun, a relative of the athlete on her mother’s side, said his 14-year-old grandniece has shown interest in carrying the colors of the country in overseas competitions.
After Carlos Edriel Yulo’s golden double in the Paris Olympic Games, Fortun posted a video of Supnet taken during the US National Championships early this year where she placed 11th in her age group.
“In the wake of Carlos Yulo’s Olympic golds, I am bringing back this video of my grandniece, Lauren delos Trinos Supnet. The Delos Trinos clan is from Tubao, La Union,” Fortun said.
“She is currently 14 years old, ranked No. 2 in the Pacific Northwest District, and wants to compete for the Philippines for the 2028 (Los Angeles Olympic) Games,” he added.
“Supnet’s grandmother, Celeste Aid Fortun-Delos Trinos, and grandfather, Eduardo Delos Trinos, are both Filipino while her mother Wilhelmina Delos Trinos-Supnet was also born in the Philippines. Her father is half-Mexican and half-Filipino,” he added.
“Lauren is American by birth (under the jus soli principle) and Filipina by blood (under the jus sanguinis principle of citizenship),” the legal eagle noted.
Fortun said he was informed by the mother, Wilhelmina, who informed him that her daughter already has a Philippine passport.
Under the rules of the International Gymnastics Federation, the world gymnastics body known by its French acronym FIG, the gymnast would now be eligible to play for the country after completing a certain process.
Mrs. Supnet said her daughter is currently being trained by top coaches at the high-level Metropolitan Gymnastics in Kent, Washington.
