Levi’s heart bleeds over parade snub

Levi Ruivivar’s heart is still bleeding, saying that she wasn’t invited during the hero’s welcome for Filipino athletes who competed in the Paris Olympics.

In a social media post, the 18-year-old gymnast said that her federation — the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) — didn’t invite them to the hero’s welcome at the Villamor Airbase in Pasay City last Tuesday in which the national athletes had a state dinner with no less than President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos Jr. in Malacañang.

Aside from Ruivivar, also absent during the momentous occasion were her fellow Filipino-American gymnasts in Emma Malabuyo and Aleah Finnegan as well as golfers Dottie Ardina and Bianca Pagdanganan.

Ruivivar said GAP president Cynthia Carrion told her that the event is exclusive for those who won Olympic medals like Carlos Yulo, Aira Villegas and Nesthy Petecio. In fact, she even attached a screenshot of her conversation with Carrion to prove the veracity of her claim.

“I heard from a member of the Olympic delegation that some sort of event was taking place in Manila to meet the President,” Ruivivar said in an Instagram post on Monday.

“On August 7th, I sent a WhatsApp text message to my NSA (national sport association) head stating that I had heard that there was an upcoming event to meet President Bongbong Marcos and I asked what the event entailed.”

“On August 8th, I received a message stating that it was only for medalists Carlos and the two bronze medalists, the boxers. I responded inquiring if that was in fact, correct because I never received a response or any further information.”

She said getting snubbed in a once-in-a-lifetime event is truly painful.

“I was really hurt considering this was a once in a lifetime opportunity I missed out on,” said Ruivivar, who is being groomed to see action in the Los Angeles Games in 2028.

“I wanted to be part of the celebration with my fellow Olympians and to share in the excitement of the success of the Olympics with my country, the Philippines. I truly wish I could have gone, considering I sacrificed endlessly to perform for my country and to make everyone proud.”

Still, she remains grateful for the opportunity to represent the country.

“I am truly excited to continue competing for the Philippines, and I look forward to taking every opportunity to come to the Philippines and hopefully inspire the new generation of Filipina gymnasts that are the future,” Ruivivar, who was in the country last May to conduct a clinic for aspiring gymnasts, said.

Carrion said the incident was just a “miscommunication” between the federation and the United States-based athletes. After all, their trips back to the US were already booked ahead of time.

“We didn’t know about their plans. Everything was offered at the last minute,” Carrion said.