Gymnast Levi Jung-Ruivivar, a former U.S. national team member who now represents the Philippines, said she suffered a “severe allergic reaction” in the Olympic Village on Monday.
Jung-Ruivivar, 18, has a tree nut allergy, but said in an Instagram post that she does not believe she ingested the allergen.
“On the way to the treatment center, my allergy symptoms escalated rapidly and my breathing became significantly labored, my throat began to constrict, my chest was itching, and I had severe swelling,” she said.
She had her EpiPen with her and was self-injected as she attempted to locate the Village’s emergency medical clinic and eventually called an ambulance.
Jung-Ruivivar said that this was only her second anaphylactic reaction, but she received medical attention and has been cleared to compete in Sunday’s qualification round.
“I just want to let everyone know that I am 100% safe and healthy,” she said. “My muscles are fatigued and it definitely took a toll on my body, but I am doing everything I can to recover and perform at my best possible level.”
Jung-Ruivivar is an incoming freshman at Stanford University, where she will compete in NCAA gymnastics. After obtaining her dual citizenship via her Filipina heritage in 2022, she qualified to compete as an individual competitor for the Philippines at the Paris Olympics through the World Cup series earlier this year.
She trains at WOGA Gymnastics in Plano, Texas, alongside Hezly Rivera, who is the youngest member of the U.S. delegation.
After competing in Thursday’s podium training, Jung-Ruivivar told reporters that the reaction took a toll on her body. The last time it happened, she had to take a two-week break from training.
“I’m trying to recover from it and it’s really hard because there’s not a lot I can do about it,” Jung-Ruivivar said in the mixed zone, according to gymnastics podcast “GymCastic.” “I’m just trying to push through and do as much as I can.”
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Two other former U.S. national team members, Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo, will also represent the Philippines in gymnastics – a route to the Olympics that is growing increasingly common as a deep field of American gymnasts competes for just five Olympic spots.
“It was really scary because I was having a really hard time breathing,” she said in an Instagram video. “I guess you could say I had an Olympic experience like no other.”
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