Cynthia Carrion apologizes to gymnasts as they missed homecoming parade for Filipino Olympians
The president of the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines (GAP) apologized to gymnasts Emma Malabuyo, Aleah Finnegan, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar as they missed the Aug. 14 homecoming parade for Filipino athletes at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
In a press conference streamed by the state-run Radyo Pilipinas on Aug. 19, Cynthia Carrion, who was with Malabuyo and Finnegan, explained that she was only informed about the event at the last minute.
"I'm sorry, we didn't get advice," she said, facing the gymnasts. "You should have joined all our events."
Carrion said she was "worried" because she "didn't know the plans."
She said "everything" was "offered last minute," including to the Philippine Olympic Committee.
"Had I known, of course, I'd be so proud of them being with me. Not only one, but four," she said, pertaining to Carlos Yulo, who won the historic double gold in Paris 2024.
Finnegan and Malabuyo flew to the United States after the Olympics and arrived in the Philippines on Aug. 15.
"If all of us have known they were here, we would tell them, 'You come,'" Carrion said.
This comes a few days after Carrion said Malabuyo and Finnegan were not invited because they were "not around."
"Those two people were not here," she said in an Aug. 16 interview with DWIZ News. "Why will we invite them? They were still flying. We did not know about in the last minute... we did not even know there was going to be a parade."
"They were not here. Why would we invite them?" she reiterated.
Carrion also said Malabuyo and Finnegan were saying things that "are not true." The two gymnasts had said they weren't informed about the parade.
"They're giving us a hard time," she said. "I have my own rules and I don't like things that are lying. They are lying because they are not in the Philippines. They're still flying. They arrived on the 15th."
Carrion, at the time, bared her plans to meet with Malabuyo and Finnegan "to really talk to them [and ask] why are they [are] giving GAP difficulty when it's the truth."
When the parade was about to happen, TikTok entries showed Malayo was in the Philippines while Finnegan was en route.
Ruivivar, in an Aug. 19 Instagram post, said she was "never" informed about the parade. In a screenshot of a conversation on messaging platform WhatsApp regarding the event, she can be seen asking the National Sports Association head about the parade and being told it was only for medalists: Yulo and boxers Nesthy Petecio and Aira Villegas.
She verified if it was correct because she had heard all Filipino Olympians were invited. She didn't get a response.
But Ruivivar was surprised to see all Filipino Olympians in the parade, except for her, Finnegan, and Malabuyo.
Ruivivar, Finnegan, and Malabuyo are the first female gymnasts to represent the Philippines in the Olympics in six decades.
At Paris 2024, Ruivivar placed 40th, Malabuyo 41st, and Finnegan 47th at the women's artistic gymnastics all-around.
