Fil-Am gymnast Emma Malabuyo. HandoutMANILA — Emma Malabuyo will finally make her quadrennial meet debut in the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympic Games.

The 21-year-old Malabuyo, who is a full-blooded Filipino and was raised in the United States, earned her qualification to the Summer Games after her bronze medal finish in the Women's Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Uzbekistan last May.

READ: Emma Malabuyo thrilled to qualify and represent the Philippines at Paris Olympics

This allowed the country to have four representatives in the gymnastics event, with Aleah Finnegan, Levi Ruvivar, and Carlos Yulo completing the list.

But before she takes stage in Paris as she makes her debut for the Philippines later this month, Malabuyo had to go through an uphill climb to realize her Olympic dream.

Emma won a number of gold, silver, and bronze medals in her junior and senior career in the US, and these eventually allowed her to make their senior national team.

However, despite her impressive resume which included juniors floor exercise and balance beam gold with Team USA in the 2016 L'International Gymnix tournament, and seniors all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise gold at the City of Jesolo Trophy, Malabuyo’s dream of competing in the Olympics for the US didn’t quite push through.

Malabuyo was named to the US National Team in 2021 ahead of the Tokyo Games after her fourth-place finish in the National Championships all-around, but during the Olympic Trials, she only placed ninth.

This led to her booking a ticket to Tokyo but only as an alternate.

-- A change of scenery… and Nationality -- 

In 2023, the University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) standout announced that she would finally represent the Philippines, and that was in the Asian Gymnastics Championships.

Malabuyo, who received dual citizenship to finally play for the Philippines, won floor silver, the highest placement ever for a Filipina gymnast at the Asian Championships. This marked the start of her rise yet again as she eventually clinched a ticket to Paris a year later. 

"I've been so persistent I never gave up on this dream. I never gave up on myself. And I really fought so hard just to get here. So much pressure I could feel it but I gave it my all," she told ABS-CBN News’ Dyan Castillejo in a previous interview, speaking about her Olympic qualification earlier this year. 

Despite faltering in the 2024 FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Doha in April and missing her first attempt at reaching the Olympics, Malabuyo never wavered and was eventually able to do so with her bronze finish at the Uzbekistan Asian Championships the next month. 

"I am so thankful to represent the Philippines. Just seeing all the love, support, and encouragement, it means so much to me. It reminded me so much of back home at our Filipino parties.” 

But now that she will finally step foot on the Olympic stage and even has the chance to bag medals yet again, Malabuyo said that what she wants to achieve in Paris is even beyond triumph.

“I want to inspire future generations of Filipina gymnasts, and getting this opportunity means so much to me. I can't wait to represent the Philippines," she said.

Malabuyo, Yulo, Finnegan, and Ruvivar will start their Paris gymnastics campaigns on July 27.