Emma Malabuyo at the ‘Yes Girl’ Women’s Artistic Gymnastics Training Clinic in Intramuros, Manila, August 17, 2024. Photo from Rom Anzures, ABS-CBN News.

MANILA — Emma Malabuyo was one of the three Filipinas who fought for flag and country in the 2024 Paris Olympic Games' women's artistic gymnastics. 

Alongside Aleah Finnegan and Levi Ruvivar, the trio were the first Filipinas since 1964 who were able to compete in their event in the Summer Games.

Malabuyo also was one of the last Filipinos to have qualified for Paris as she previously clinched a bronze finish in the Asian Championships' individual all-around last May, and she said that all the hard work proved to be of much worth. 

"It was the best experience of my life," she told ABS-CBN News on the sidelines of the ‘Yes Girl' Women's Artistic Gymnastics Training Clinic in Intramuros, Manila earlier on Saturday.

READ: Aleah Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo lead women's gymnastics training clinic in Manila

"I really enjoyed representing my community and especially inspiring other Filipino girls, that they can do it just like me. It was a wonderful and amazing experience," she continued.

However, Malabuyo admitted that the series of training as she prepared for the Olympics did put a toll on her eventually. 

"I think one of the toughest challenges was being able to manage my body. I had some aches and pains, and was a little bit trained and tired due to the training every single day up to that moment," she explained.

"It was a little bit exhausting, but the support from the Philippines and everybody helped me there."

And while she fell short of reaching the medal round of her event as she settled at the 40th spot at the conclusion of her event, Malabuyo bared that she earned a lot of learnings from her stay there.

"It was just having a lot of fun, trusting in myself, trusting in my coaches as well, and just believing in myself," she added.

Meanwhile, Malabuyo also touched on her and Aleah Finnegan missing the heroes' parade for the Filipino Olympians earlier this week.

"It has been resolved. We really wanted to be a part of the parade," she said. "We just were not given information. It was only my friends and family who sent me the posters, but everything has been resolved now."

"We haven't talked about anything, but we're on our way up," added the Filipina, while sharing how she is hoping for another chance to meet the fans that they missed during the 7.7km parade in Manila. 

"I think we're trying our best to figure out if there's any way to do some sort of meet and greet with fans. But if not, we are feeling all your love and support," she said.

And above all, the most important thing, according to her, is being able to share their knowledge with the young gymnasts in their two-day event.

"But the main reason we came to the parade is to just help the girls, coach at this clinic, and do the best that we can do for these younger generations," she said.

Moving forward, this is what eventually will prove to be very crucial for the country's future participation in the Olympics. 

"I think, to qualify, we just need to get younger gymnastics more experience. [The young guys] should train until the senior level so we can keep practicing, keep doing more competitions, and then work together to hopefully make an LA Olympic team," she explained.

As for Emma, there are still no definite plans for the 21-year-old star.

"I'm gonna take it year by year, and hopefully, I stay healthy. But I think, I actually live in LA and that is actually my hometown, so hopefully, I'll be healthy enough to try," she said.