Emma Malabuyo (born November 5, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She is a five-time member of the
U.S. National Team (2016–19, 2021). She was an alternate for the
2020 Olympic team. She is currently competing for the
UCLA Bruins
The UCLA Bruins are the athletic teams that represent the University of California, Los Angeles. The Bruin men's and women's teams participate in NCAA Division I as part of the Pac-12 Conference and the Mountain Pacific Sports Federation (MPSF) ...
gymnastics team.
Early life
Emma Malabuyo was born to Joel and Ana Malabuyo. Malabuyo began her training at Airborne Gymnastics in
Santa Clara, California
Santa Clara (; Spanish for " Saint Clare") is a city in Santa Clara County, California. The city's population was 127,647 at the 2020 census, making it the eighth-most populous city in the Bay Area. Located in the southern Bay Area, the cit ...
, but moved to Texas to train under former world champion
Kim Zmeskal-Burdette at
Texas Dreams in 2013. She qualified as an elite gymnast in 2015.
Gymnastics career
Junior
2016
In March 2016, Malabuyo made her international debut part of the United States' gold-winning junior team at the 2016 L'International Gymnix tournament, where she earned the bronze medal in the all-around competition, as well as two gold medals on balance beam and floor exercise. Later that month at the
City of Jesolo Trophy, she won a gold medal on balance beam and earned three silver medals in the all-around, uneven bars, and floor exercise. In June, Malabuyo competed at the
2016 Secret U.S. Classic, where she finished second in the all-around behind fellow Texan
Irina Alexeeva
Irina Nikolayevna Alexeeva or Alekseeva (russian: Ири́на Никола́евна Алексе́ева, born 20 April 2002) is a Russian artistic gymnast and a former member of the Russian National Team. She was part of the teams that won t ...
of
WOGA and third on balance beam. She progressed to the
2016 P&G U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, but pulled out after competing only vault and floor exercise on the first day, and did not medal.
2017
In April 2017, Malabuyo competed at the
City of Jesolo Trophy, where she finished third in the all-around behind teammates
Gabby Perea
Gabrielle "Gabby" Perea (born January 1, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. An elite gymnast since 2013, she was named to the National Team in March 2016; she received her inaugural international assignment at that time also, at the 2016 L'In ...
and
Maile O'Keefe
Maile O'Keefe ( ) (born February 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. National Team and is the 2016 and 2017 U.S. Junior National Champion. She currently competes for the University of Utah's NCAA gymnastics ...
. Later that year Malabuyo won the
U.S. Classic
The U.S. Classic is an annual summer gymnastics meet for elite artistic gymnasts of the United States. The meet occurs before Nationals and is a qualifier for it. In Olympic years, the aforementioned meets along with the U.S. Olympic Trials are u ...
ahead of O'keefe. At
Nationals, Malabuyo finished second behind defending champion O'Keefe, but finished first on floor exercise, second on uneven bars, and third on vault and was named to the national team. She and O'Keefe were then selected to represent the United States at the 2017 International Junior Gymnastics Competition in
Japan. There Malabuyo finished second in the all-around, again behind O'Keefe, and first on floor exercise.
Senior
2018
Malabuyo made her senior debut at the
City of Jesolo Trophy, where she competed as an individual alongside club teammate
Ragan Smith
Ragan Elizabeth Smith (born August 8, 2000) is an American collegiate gymnast. She is a five-time member of the US National Team (2014–2019). She is the 2017 United States national all-around champion and was an alternate for the 2016 Olymp ...
. She won gold in the all-around, balance beam, and floor exercise.
During the summer, Malabuyo competed only on vault and balance beam at the
U.S. Classic
The U.S. Classic is an annual summer gymnastics meet for elite artistic gymnasts of the United States. The meet occurs before Nationals and is a qualifier for it. In Olympic years, the aforementioned meets along with the U.S. Olympic Trials are u ...
due to a nagging back injury, scoring 14.300 and 12.650, respectively, after falling on beam. She finished fourteenth on the event.
She traveled with Smith to Boston in August to compete in the
national championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
, but pulled out of the event during training to avoid re-aggravating the same injury. As a result, she was not named to the national team after the meet.
2019
In February Malabuyo was named to the team to compete at the
2019 City of Jesolo Trophy
The 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy was the 12th annual ''Trofeo di Jesolo'' gymnastics
Gymnastics is a type of sport that includes physical exercises requiring balance, strength, flexibility, agility, coordination, dedication and endurance. T ...
alongside
Sunisa Lee
Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born Sunisa Phabsomphou; March 9, 2003) is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Champi ...
,
Shilese Jones
Shilese Jones (born July 26, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2022 World Championships and the 2018 Pan American Championships. Individually she is the 2022 World all-around silver meda ...
, and
Gabby Perea
Gabrielle "Gabby" Perea (born January 1, 2002) is an American artistic gymnast. An elite gymnast since 2013, she was named to the National Team in March 2016; she received her inaugural international assignment at that time also, at the 2016 L'In ...
. As a result, she was added back onto the
national team
A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport.
The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...
. In Italy she helped the USA win gold in the team final and individually she won bronze in the all-around behind Lee and
Liu Tingting of China, and won silver on balance beam behind
reigning World Champion Liu and on floor exercise, behind teammate Lee. She also placed sixth on uneven bars.
In July, Malabuyo was going to compete at the
2019 U.S. Classic but broke her
tibia
The tibia (; ), also known as the shinbone or shankbone, is the larger, stronger, and anterior (frontal) of the two bones in the leg below the knee in vertebrates (the other being the fibula, behind and to the outside of the tibia); it connects ...
and was out for the remainder of the season.
In the fall Malabuyo signed her
National Letter of Intent with
UCLA
The University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA) is a public land-grant research university in Los Angeles, California. UCLA's academic roots were established in 1881 as a teachers college then known as the southern branch of the California ...
, joining their team in the 2020–21 school year.
2021
Malabuyo returned to gymnastics at the
2021 Winter Cup
The 2021 Winter Cup was an artistic gymnastics competition held at the Indiana Convention Center in Indianapolis. In past iterations it was only for Men's Artistic Gymnastics, however, this competition was the first time that Women's Artistic Gymn ...
. She competed on three events, including a sixth place finish on beam. At the
National Championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
Malabuyo finished fourth in the all-around. As a result she was named to the national team and selected to compete at the upcoming
Olympic Trials. At the Olympic Trials Malabuyo finished ninth in the all-around and was named as an alternate for the
Olympic
Olympic or Olympics may refer to
Sports
Competitions
* Olympic Games, international multi-sport event held since 1896
** Summer Olympic Games
** Winter Olympic Games
* Ancient Olympic Games, ancient multi-sport event held in Olympia, Greece b ...
team.
NCAA
2021–2022 season
Malabuyo earned her first perfect ten on the balance beam on March 12.
Career perfect 10.0
Selected competitive skills
Competitive history
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Malabuyo, Emma
2002 births
American female artistic gymnasts
Junior artistic gymnasts
People from Milpitas, California
People from Flower Mound, Texas
Living people
Gymnasts from Texas
UCLA Bruins women's gymnasts
U.S. women's national team gymnasts
NCAA gymnasts who have scored a perfect 10