Former US international gymnast turned Philippines star Levi Jung-Ruivivar is on the mend after suffering a “severe allergic reaction” during an evening walk at the Paris Olympics on Monday.
The 18-year-old has a tree nut allergy but said she does not believe she ingested the allergen.
Aware it was anaphylaxis, Jung-Ruivivar returned to her room and called her parents while her roommate Aleah Finnegan went out in search of the Olympic Village emergency clinic.
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“On the way to the treatment centre my allergy symptoms escalated rapidly and my breathing became significantly laboured, my throat began to constrict, my chest was itching and I had severe swelling,” Jung-Ruivivar wrote on Instagram.
“It got to the point where I needed to use my EpiPen and I self-injected it on the way to the clinic.”
Jung-Ruivivar overcame “some initial difficulties” to make it to the hospital with the help of her coach, Finnegan and other staffers.
She said she received proper treatment and was looked after well by the medical workers.
“I just want to let everyone know that I am 100 per cent safe and healthy,” Jung-Ruivivar 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.
“I am slowly progressing back into routines. I will be competing at this Olympic Games and I am beyond grateful to everyone that helped me through this incident.
“It was definitely a stressful night and something that I’ll remember for the rest of my life.”
Jung-Ruivivar carries her EpiPen everywhere but has only ever needed to use the life-saving device once before.
“It was really scary because I was having a really hard time breathing,” she said.
The teenager said she needed two weeks to recover before returning to training after the previous anaphylactic reaction.
This time, she took part in podium training on Thursday — three days after the incident — and is due to compete in the qualifying round on Sunday.
“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, conceding the reaction took a toll on her body.
“I’m just trying to push through and do as much as I can.”
Jung-Ruivivar is an incoming freshman at Stanford University, where she will compete in NCAA gymnastics.
After obtaining 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 Texas alongside Hezly Rivera, who is the youngest member of the US delegation.
Like Jung-Ruivivar, teammates Aleah Finnegan and Emma Malabuyo are also former US internationals who will represent the Philippines.
The route is growing increasingly common as a deep field of American gymnasts competes for just five Olympic spots.
– with NBC