When gymnastics worlds collide: UCLA’s Emma Malabuyo and an Olympic dream renewed
Artistic gymnastics can be divided into two worlds: elite and college, but now, more than ever, gymnasts are choosing to do both simultaneously. In this series, Gymnastics Now talks with athletes who are straddling the line between worlds to highlight the nuances of representing college and country.
After competing for the Philippines on short notice this past June, 2020 U.S. Olympic team alternate and current UCLA gymnast Emma Malabuyo may not be counting out another Olympic run.
“Everything was pretty stressful because, I’m like, ‘Is this going to work?’ But I wanted to give it a shot, and I miss elite actually a lot. So then I was able to compete in Asian Championships. Thankfully, I did pretty well, and I was proud of how I did, but it actually sparked this fire in me that I kind of missed, and I was like, WOW, this is so exciting being back on the international stage, and I get to compete with other countries and I thought that was so awesome,” Malabuyo said.
Short notice, great results
Malabuyo had a stellar international (re-)debut after her two-year hiatus, during which she switched from representing the United States to the Phillippines – her grandparents’ native country.
Despite only having a month to train elite prior to the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics Asian Championships, Malabuyo earned the silver medal on floor and fifth on beam. Her floor silver made history for the Filipino team as the highest-ever placement by a Filipina gymnast at the Asian Championships.
“It was pure joy. What I had with the Philippines and just the team chemistry and the bond that I made with these girls and the whole federation,” Malabuyo reflected. “I think that just meant a lot to me – these relationships – and it was just a great experience and that just is what makes me want to keep competing for them. So now they’re wanting to send me to Asian Games in September… I’m pretty sure I’m going to go; it’s gonna be in China. So I think that’s really awesome. And then we’ll see from there, but I want to continue to compete for the Philippines and just see where it takes me.”
Malabuyo is seeing where this new elite chapter takes her, but she also has a new goal in mind.
“I didn’t realize how much fun I had until I competed at Asian Championships,” Malabuyo admitted. “And then it’s just this combination of having fun and my passion for gymnastics and elite gymnastics and then my goal. Hopefully, one day… We’ll see how far I get, but that would be cool to just go to the Olympics and compete. So that’s one of my main goals.”
Malabuyo said it’s not just going to the Olympics; it’s now going to the Olympics while representing the Philippines that would make the accomplishment extra special for her
“I think it would mean so so much to me,” Malabuyo said. “I already just felt the love and support after winning the silver medal on floor. So many people came up to me, and I know the Philippines wanted me to actually go to the Philippines right after. But the judges, the coaches, all the teammates say, ‘You don’t know how much… this means so much to us and to our country.’ And feeling that love. It makes me want to just keep competing for them.”
New goals, new decisions
With her revitalized elite career all being a rather recent development for Malabuyo, the gymnast is still undecided how she will move forward in terms of competing for both NCAA and elite or picking one over the other.
“I’m still in the process of deciding what I want to do. I haven’t made any decisions yet, but it’s a lot, so I know that I have this goal in mind, but now I’m actually just having so many conversations and just thinking of what I really want to do – either stay at UCLA, or I don’t know what the other option is,” Malabuyo said. “But I’m really still trying to think everything through because right as I got back I was like, ‘Oh my gosh’ now I have a new goal in my head, and I really want to go for it.”
Going for it means upgrading and focusing on rehabbing a shoulder injury by way of physical therapy instead of surgery.
“I’m slowly doing kips on bars, and maybe I can do something on bars and then vault, and for beam and floor, I’m so excited. I think this is what’s also bringing the fire out of me is being able to train like a double layout on floor,” Malabuyo said. “And for beam, I want to do my Arabian again, my back handspring layout layout, and just playing around with more and more upgrades.”
Malabuyo is also hoping to be more creative with her routines.
“Not only doing these big skills, but trying to be creative with different routines, because after I went to the competition, I was just studying these other girls and watching the Chinese gymnasts on beam; they’re just so beautiful to watch. And I was like, let’s just try to be creative and maybe play around with their skills, too,” Malabuyo said of her inspiration.
Support at home and abroad
While this journey may have had a quick start, Malabuyo has found comfort in her fellow Filipino teammates, including LSU’s Aleah Finnegan, who has gone a similar route in switching her International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) nationality from the United States to the Philippines and competed alongside Malabuyo at the Asian Championships.
“I think it’s awesome to have Aleah kind of bear with me, because we’re going through the same thing,” Malabuyo said of the LSU star. “So she has the same experience of going through elite and then doing college. Now here, we’re both kind of back into it. And not only that, I think there’s this sisterhood that we have just both being Filipino, too, and representing our country.
“So I think having that closeness and that support system is amazing. And we can always kind of talk to each other about like, ‘Hey, what do we want to do?’ Like how do you feel about this? And I feel this way, what are you doing? Like you’re able to talk and just be open about that, which is awesome.”
Back home in the states, Malabuyo is hoping to continue training at UCLA while competing elite. Her family and coaches are ready to help support her new dreams.
“I’m still unsure about the whole thing,” Malabuyo said. “But for the most part, I’m really trying to stay at UCLA, just because the coaches are amazing, the equipment is great, and it’s the area where my family is living. So everything is just all here. So I’m really trying to figure out a way to balance both school, gymnastics, and both, I guess, gymnastics worlds, too.”
Using experience as a guiding light
Even if she chooses to focus on only one of the two worlds for the upcoming season, Malabuyo shared she is taking experience from both of them as she embarks on this new chapter.
“I think the experience from doing elite gymnastics in college is just really helping me to learn even more,” Malabuyo explained. “I think, competing in Asian Championships, I used my old, past elite experience, but I was able to apply what I’ve learned in college of competing every weekend when I was tired.
I was like, ‘Okay, then I have to do day two.’ Things like that. Or trying to be perfect in college and trying to stick all those skills is helping me in elite; actually just trying to stick those skills and be clean. So I think both are actually giving me a lot of experience and just helping me to learn even more. So it’s just a great opportunity doing both.”
Ten years ago, this path, although available, wasn’t necessarily a norm, but thanks to the changing landscape of women’s gymnastics, Malabuyo (and Finnegan) aren’t alone in their pursuits of elite and NCAA success.
“I think it’s really cool to see that you kind of have this opportunity to do both worlds,” Malabuyo said. “And not only that, I think just proving to younger girls that you can still do it when you’re older. And I think as a younger gymnast, I always thought, ‘Oh, you’re done after college.’ But I don’t think I’d ever want to be done after college.
“And now, just seeing, ‘Okay, you can still kind of do both, and maybe continue on after college.’ I think that’s really cool, just to look up to other girls like Jade [Carey] and Kayla [DiCello’s] doing it. Everyone is kind of jumping into both worlds now, so I think that’s something cool to see.”
The Asian Games will take place in Hangzhou, China, from September 23 to October 8.
