Filipino gymnast Levi Yung-Ruivivar suffered a frightening experience on Monday at the 2024 Paris Olympics when he suffered anaphylactic shock and was rushed to the Olympic Village emergency room.
Jun Ruivivar, a dual American-Filipino citizen, recounted the terrifying incident that happened earlier this week in an interview with Gymcastic.com and in her own social media posts.
“I don’t know what actually happened,” former USA gymnast Rui Viver told the outlet. According to USA Today“I don’t know what it came from. I hadn’t eaten anything for three or four hours. I don’t know what got into my body, but it was really bad. My whole face was swollen.”
In an Instagram post, 18-year-old Yoon Ruivivar said it all started when she suddenly began having an anaphylactic reaction during an evening walk, adding that she had not eaten any nuts (to which she is allergic) or been bitten by any insects.
He returned to his room, called his parents and then headed to a medical centre in Paris’ Olympic Village, but his condition worsened on the way there and he had to be given an EpiPen.
Yun Ruivivar wrote that she was treated well by staff there and felt “100% safe and healthy.”
“My muscles are fatigued and my body is certainly under a lot of strain, but I am doing everything I can to recover and perform at my best,” she wrote on Instagram.
Yun Ruivivar was on the Olympic floor for podium training on Thursday, but posted to Gymcast that she will compete in the qualifying round on Sunday.
“[It] “It really sucks,” Ruivivar told Gymcast. “I was preparing well and feeling good before the fight. My body will continue to recover, but I’m pretty depleted.”
She plans to compete in collegiate athletics as a freshman at Stanford University this coming academic year.
