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| LSU gymnast Aleah Finnegan will booking a ticket to the Paris Olympics next year. |
Finnegan, who is also one of the stars of the Louisiana State University gymnastic team, earned an all-around score of 51.366 in her world championship debut.
“It was such an honor to compete for the Philippines on the world stage. To be able to represent my family and just knowing that I did everything I could out there was really special,” said Finnegan.
The 20-year old is one of several Filipino Americans who have chosen to represent the Philippiines. Besides Finnegan, UCLA's Emma Malabuyo, University of Alabama's Kylee Kvamme and Stanford's Levi Jung-Ruivivar, are members of the Philippines women's artistic gymnastic team.
Although the Philippines team did not qualify for the Olympics, the international gymnastic federation allows for individuals to vye for medals if they qualify.
Kvamme also competed for the Philippines in Antwerp but did not win enough points to qualify.
Finnegan's all-around score of 51.366 placed her fifth on the day out of the gymnasts on non-qualifying teams to secure her spot in Paris. The Filipino-American posted 13 points in vault, 12.433 points in uneven bars, 12.7 in balanced beam and 12.833 in floor exercise. Additionally, she can now serve as second alternate for the women’s individual all-around final at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 6.
Finnegan amassed 51.366 points for 32nd place in the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships’ qualification in Antwerp, Belgium, which gives her enough credentials to take one of 14 spots for the highest-ranked eligible athletes for the Olympics.
The Filipino American posted 13 points in vault, 12.433 points in uneven bars, 12.7 in balanced beam and 12.833 in floor exercise.
Finnegan is the first Filipina gymnast since Evelyn Magluyan in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to participate at an Olympic Games.
Finnegan's all-around score of 51.366 placed her fifth on the day out of the gymnasts on non-qualifying teams to secure her spot in Paris. The Filipino-American posted 13 points in vault, 12.433 points in uneven bars, 12.7 in balanced beam and 12.833 in floor exercise. Additionally, she can now serve as second alternate for the women’s individual all-around final at 1:30 p.m. EDT on Friday, October 6.
Finnegan amassed 51.366 points for 32nd place in the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships’ qualification in Antwerp, Belgium, which gives her enough credentials to take one of 14 spots for the highest-ranked eligible athletes for the Olympics.
The Filipino American posted 13 points in vault, 12.433 points in uneven bars, 12.7 in balanced beam and 12.833 in floor exercise.
Finnegan is the first Filipina gymnast since Evelyn Magluyan in the 1964 Summer Olympics in Tokyo to participate at an Olympic Games.
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| ALEAH FINNEGAN |
She follows in the footsteps of her older sisters. Her older sister Hannah did so in the 2011 Southeast Asian Games, while her other sister, Sarah Finnegan, a former LSU All-American, was an alternate on the US team for the 2012 London Olympics.
“I’ve been wanting to go to the Olympics since I knew what the Olympics were,” says Finnegan. “I was kind of calculating how old I would need to be and what years that would be. I never really thought growing up that it would be 2024, but here I am with this opportunity.”
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Finnegan earned her spot at worlds after finishing as one of the top eight all-arounders at the Asian Championships in June to continue her journey with the Philippines at this year’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
“I’ve been wanting to go to the Olympics since I knew what the Olympics were,” says Finnegan. “I was kind of calculating how old I would need to be and what years that would be. I never really thought growing up that it would be 2024, but here I am with this opportunity.”
A native of Lee’s Summit, Missouri, Finnegan earned her spot at worlds after finishing as one of the top eight all-arounders at the Asian Championships in June to continue her journey with the Philippines at this year’s World Artistic Gymnastics Championships.
EDITOR'S NOTE: For additional commentary, news and views from an AANHPI perspective, follow me at Threads.net/eduardodiok, @DioknoEd on Twitter or at the blog Views From the Edge.
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