Red, white, blue, and yellow adorned the top of the podium at the women's gymnastics team competition at the 1997 Southeast Asian Games. The Philippine flag hung high after Tammy DeGuzman helped lead the Philippine women's gymnastics team to team gold.

Twenty years later, Kaitlin DeGuzman is set to follow in her mom's footsteps.

The 29th SEA Games are set to begin August 17 in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and Kaitlin will join the Philippine delegation seeking to defend its team bronze from 2015.

Kaitlin's journey to Malaysia began in March when the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines asked her to join the Philippine National Team and compete in Bangkok at the Senior Asian Championships in May.

I was thrilled and excited to have been given the wonderful opportunity to compete for my country. I've always wanted to compete for the Philippine National Team, and it was an opportunity I didn't want to pass up.

Despite competing at the 2015 and 2016 P&G Gymnastics Championships for the U.S., Kaitlin can still represent the Philippines in international competition, which she has always wanted to do, especially since her parents did. She and her parents were born there, and her father represented the Philippines as a member of its water polo team.

Her time as an elite gymnast in the U.S., however, is what helped her prepare for her first international competition by teaching her to control her nerves and giving her competitive experience.


In Bangkok, Kaitlin competed level 10 routines, because she did not have time to train elite routines. She finished 17th and scored a 45.600 in the all-around final, earning the highest all-around score of her team. Her team-highs on bars, beam, and floor helped the Philippines finish seventh in the team final. She did not compete in any event finals but was first reserve for floor.

The Senior Asian Champs were "a great experience" for Kaitlin but said it didn't compare to competing with Aly Raisman, Simone Biles, and Gabby Douglas at P&G's. However, she enjoyed seeing Chinese World Cup champion Liu Tingting.

With her first international competition under her belt, Kaitlin has learned a valuable lesson she'll keep in mind for Malaysia.

"I tend to overthink and I get sick, so I need to stay calm and pray and be positive and just enjoy the moment," she said.

While Kaitlin is following her mom's footsteps in a way, she's also following the footsteps of another Filipino gymnast: Lizzy LeDuc.

LeDuc was Kaitlin's club teammate at Metroplex Gymnastics and also competed on the U.S. elite scene before competing for the Philippines. LeDuc was a member of the bronze-medal-winning Philippine team at the 2015 SEA Games.

Although LeDuc was at Metroplex for only three years, Kaitlin still learned from her fellow Filipina.

Lizzy is great under pressure and is a crowd pleaser. I've always admired how she competed, her confidence and charisma.

"Whenever I watch her it's like she pulls you into this trance because you just can't stop watching her, and I hope people feel that and see that when they're watching me compete," Kaitlin said. "She makes gymnastics look easy and pretty."

Before heading to Malaysia for the SEA Games, Kaitlin and her teammates had training camps in Japan and the Philippines to prepare and improve their events from the Senior Asian Champs. These training camps, in addition to the Senior Asian Champs and SEA Games, provided more than just an opportunity to compete and improve her gymnastics, though.


"(Being) with the Philippine team gave me an opportunity to get to know my hometown teammates, see a part of Asia, experience a different culture, travel, and be able to be a part of another team and make friends," she said.

The SEA Games is a major meet, especially for the Philippine team, and it will be only Kaitlin's second international assignment, but the 17-year-old Oklahoma commit isn't getting ahead of herself in terms of her future with the Philippine National Team.

My plan is to do well at the upcoming Southeast Asian Games and take it a day at a time. I want to focus on getting ready for OU after and whatever God has in store for me in the future.

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