LSU gymnast Aleah Finnegan feels 'special' after representing Philippines at Paris Olympics 2024

By Puneet Tripathi

Modified Jul 30, 2024 07:06 GMT

LSU gymnast Aleah Finnegan has shared her moment of joy after representing the Philippines gymnastics team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Finnegan is the first Filipino gymnast since 1964 to take part in thet Olympic Games.

Maria-Luisa Floro and Evelyn Magluyan were the last Filipino gymnasts to feature at the Olympics, and now Finnegan, Emma Malabuyo, and Levi Jung-Ruivivar are following in their footsteps. Aleah Finnegan is a 21-year-old gymnast who is also an active senior athlete on the Louisiana State University gymnastics team, named the LSU Lady Tigers.

On Sunday, after Finnegan finished with an all-around score of 50.498 in subdivision three, she expressed her emotions that said:

“Today, all my little girl dreams came true! An Olympian for life. I truly enjoyed every single second of today’s competition.”

The LSU athlete might not have qualified for the final, but was content with her performance on the world stage, adding:

“Representing the Philippines at the Olympics is so special, no matter the outcome. These are the moments I’ll carry for the rest of my life.”

Finnegan began the competition with a less than impressive performance on the balance beam, but later made up for it with an amazing showcase of athleticism on the floor exercise, where she scored 12.733. Then she went on to perfrom two vault routines for a splendid score of 13.733, and finished on the bars with a score of 12.566.

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Aleah Finnegan's performance at the NCAA 2024

Aleah Finnegan performing a floor routine (Image via Getty) Aleah

Aleah Finnegan won the 2024 NCAA floor individual championship title with a score of 9.9625, becoming the eleventh LSU gymnast to claim an NCAA individual title, following in the footsteps of her older sister, Sarah. The Filipina sisters are the only pair of NCAA title-winning sisters in program history.

Finnegan expressed to the media how she felt about winning the NCAA title:

"It’s an honor to represent LSU on the highest stage in our sport, there’s no other word to describe it other than ‘blessed.’”

Finnegan's triumph was the LSU Tigers' first national championship win in school history.

The 21-year-old gymnast wasn't able to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics, after which she announced her retirement from elite gymnastics. However, she later received an offer to represent the Philippines. Finnegan is one of fourteen NCAA gymnasts to compete at the 2024 Paris Olympics.