It is an understatement to say that gymnast Charlie Manzano is pretty good at the vault. The sophomore psychology major won a bronze medal at the 2024 Pacific Rim Championships in the event.
Not many collegiate gymnasts can say that. But the Filipino national team member says that while vault is her best event, the artistry on floor is especially exciting to her.
“I have fun doing floor, since you’re really performing. I want to say my best event is [the] vault. Beam is also really fun, but sometimes it’s hard to train,” says Manzano.
Manzano hails from Manila, in the Philippines. That is where she started gymnastics at 4 years old and has not looked back. At 12, her longtime coach encouraged her to join the national team. She began competing at the international senior level at 16.
“It’s very nerve-wracking. It’s exactly how it sounds. I feel like the pressure was always there. It does feel like everyone’s watching you, but I feel like it’s in a good way. I’m privileged to be here. I feel like they chose me for a reason, and my coaches wouldn’t put me out there if they didn’t know I could do it,” says Manzano.
The bronze medal on the vault at the 2024 Pacific Rim Championships was unexpected, Manzano says. She had been working through injuries and did not foresee standing on the podium, but a final score of 12.200 landed her in third.
“That was actually such a crazy journey. I was very injury-prone,” says Manzano. “Going into the meet, also, no one’s ever won from our country. I was just like, ‘you know what? I’m gonna go there, and I’m gonna do what I can. I’ll just have fun.’ That’s always what I think about. I’ve already made it that far. Might as well have fun and do my best.”
With the national team, Manzano competed at numerous competitions and excelled. At the 2022 Asian Games, she claimed 7th place on the vault, the best result for her country in women’s artistic gymnastics. At the 2021 Southeast Asian Games, Manzano helped lead her team to a gold medal.
She traveled across Asia and the world, competing in places such as China, Singapore, Vietnam and more, but began to look towards college. Staying at home would have meant giving up either the sport she loved or the education she desired, but migrating to the United States would allow her to pursue both dreams at once.
“Back home, I’m on the national team. [For] most of the people on the national team, it’s so time-consuming that you can’t really have time to go to college. But college was always going to be in the picture [for me],” says Manzano. “So, if I went to college back home, I would have to quit gymnastics.”
Although she had attended camps and training sessions in the United States before, Manzano had not been to many universities with elite gymnastics programs. She started looking for a school to spend the next four years at.
Through the process of visiting multiple schools, Manzano found the university. It was a great fit, she says. With family close-by in Newtown, it felt like a good place to continue her gymnastics and academic career.
“I love the campus. I eventually flew here for a month and started visiting schools. The team was super sweet,” says Manzano.
Once she started training with the Blue Owls, Manzano quickly found her place on the team. The past two years have had their ups and downs with injuries and multiple coaching changes, but Manzano quickly adapted. She has been limited in training and competition lately due to a shoulder injury, but regardless she always makes a positive impact on the team.
Angel Lee is a former gymnast for the university who is now a team manager. She has had the unique opportunity of being both a teammate and a roommate for Manzano.
“She’s just an overall lovely person. She’s just like a little ray of sunshine, and everybody loves her,” says Lee. “She’s the sweetest person [and] teammate. She’s super supportive. She’s always there for you.”
Off the mat, Manzano is known for her work ethic and vibrance. Even when sidelined with injuries, she has found ways to stay involved.
Head coach Corinne Tarver is new to the university, becoming the head coach in 2025, but she has already seen Manzano’s outgoing personality in action.
“Charlie is probably one of our most reliable members of the team. Anytime we need anything, we ask Charlie [and] she’s there,” says Tarver. “She’s called the mayor. We literally call her the mayor because she knows everybody. If we need something, she knows who to go to. She’s got a phone number to call someone if we need something, or even taking pictures. We have a whole photo album from every meet that she takes and creates stuff for our social media.”
When new recruits come to campus for their first visits, it is often Manzano who will be the first to offer to meet them. She is often keen to help with tours or commitment photos,
While gymnastics is known for being a sport full of hard workers, Tarver says Manzano especially stands out for her attitude and desire to always get better.
“She’s just a very tenacious athlete, and it’s important to her what she’s doing, so she’s going to take the time to do what she needs to do,” says Tarver. “She’s a vital part of this team. I definitely love having her as a part of the program, and she’s done a really great job of finding a role for herself.”
She also brings skills and lessons she has learned from the international stage to the university. Lee says Manzano’s style of gymnastics is pretty similar to her American teammates, but she also trains a vault element that is rare in collegiate gymnastics.
“She’s a very powerful girl,” says Lee. “She’s got that explosive power to her. So, she does actually a vault that you don’t typically see actually, at least not at Southern nobody definitely does this vault. Even in all of the NCAA it is pretty rare for someone to do it. She does a front handspring, front tuck. It is a full blind landing.”
As for getting back to international competition, Manzano is currently prioritizing academics. She excels in the classroom as well as on the gymnastics floor and was named a Gymnastics East Conference scholar athlete in 2025.
She hopes to work in sports psychology or with special needs children, so classes and homework are first priority. But once she recovers from injuries and gets her schoolwork done, the Philippines will have one of their best vaulters back in action.
“International competitions, [at] the elite level, they spread out through the year. There are competitions in February, June, October, and December. I told my coaches that I have finals and I have classes, so I can’t really keep skipping school. I haven’t done that yet. I’m going to go to the ones in June, and possibly the ones in October, if I can talk to my professors.”
Manzano also has aspirations for the biggest stage in elite sports. The 2028 Olympics will be in Los Angeles, and Manzano hopes to compete and represent her country.
“I have teammates from the Philippines who’ve been to the Olympics. It’s not impossible. It’s really a lot of work and dedication, and if I do get the time, I do want to work towards that,” says Manzano. “But right now there’s a couple big competitions coming up, like the Asian championships or the Asian Games, that would be fun to go to.”
