Filipino-American gymnast Emma Malabuyo formally secured a slot on the Philippine delegation to the 2024 Paris Olympics after placing third in third in the 11th Senior Women Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, last Friday.

“My parents reminded me of, like, ‘You know what? Just try doing all around for the Asian Championships. Just give it your all and just see what happens,’” Malabuyo said in an article published by Olympics.com after missing out one of the top two spots in the women’s floor exercise of the 2024 FIG Apparatus World Cup.

“I really wanted to give up because I doubted myself... but as I started getting my skills (back) fairly quickly... I was like, ‘Wait, maybe, I can just have a good showing all around.’ I didn’t think I had the potential to get an Olympic spot.”

It was Ana and Joel Malabuyo who convinced the 21-year-old student-athlete from the University of California-Los Angeles to give it another shot.

The move was right on the money.

Malabuyo finished the individual all-around with 50.398 points and won the lone Paris Games slot in the competition as the best Asian gymnast eligible.

“I definitely was like, ‘Okay, we’ll see where this ends up.’ But I performed and just did my best and I gave it my all today.”

Hu Jiafei and Qin Xinyi of China clinched the top two podium finishes with scores of 50.699 and 50.566, respectively, but are ineligible for the slot since the Chinese already qualified in the women’s team all-around of the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp last year.

Malabuyo became the 13th Filipino athlete to join the Olympic delegation, joining fellow gymnasts Levi Ruivivar, Aleah Finnegan and two-time world champion Carlos Yulo, fencer Samantha Catantan, weightlifters John Ceniza, Vanessa Sarno and Elreen Ando, rower Joanie Delgaco, pole vaulter EJ Obiena and boxers Eumir Marcial, Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.