Wikipedia

Aleah Finnegan

In this Philippine name, the middle name or maternal family name is Cruz and the surname or paternal family name is Finnegan.

Aleah Cruz Finnegan (born January 4, 2003) is a Filipino-American artistic gymnast. Born in the United States, she represents the Philippines internationally and competed for her country of birth in the past. She was a member of the United States' women's national gymnastics team from 2019 to 2021 and was part of the team that won gold at the 2019 Pan American Games. She is the first Filipina gymnast in over 60 years to qualify and represent the Philippines at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She is the 2023 Asian Championships vault and balance beam bronze medalist and the 2021 Southeast Asian Games team and vault champion. She also currently competes for the LSU Tigers gymnastics team and is the 2024 NCAA floor exercise champion.

Aleah Finnegan
Finnegan in 2024
Personal information
Full nameAleah Cruz Finnegan[fn 1]
Country represented Philippines
Former countries represented United States
Born (2003-01-04) January 4, 2003 (age 21)[2][3]
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.[2]
ResidenceLee's Summit, Missouri, U.S.
Height5 ft 4 in (163 cm)[4]
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2019–21 (USA)
2022–present (PHI)
GymGreat American Gymnastics Express
College teamLSU Tigers (2022–25)
Head coach(es)Al Fong
Assistant coach(es)Armine Barutyan
Medal record
Event 1st 2nd 3rd
Pan American Games 1 0 0
Asian Championships 0 0 2
Southeast Asian Games 2 2 0
Total 3 2 2
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing  United States
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2019 Lima Team
Representing  Philippines
Asian Championships
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Singapore Vault
Bronze medal – third place 2023 Singapore Balance beam
Southeast Asian Games
Gold medal – first place 2021 Vietnam Team
Gold medal – first place 2021 Vietnam Vault
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vietnam All-around
Silver medal – second place 2021 Vietnam Balance beam
Representing Louisiana State Tigers
NCAA Championships
Gold medal – first place 2024 Fort Worth Team
Gold medal – first place 2024 Fort Worth Floor exercise
Silver medal – second place 2023 Fort Worth Floor exercise

Early life

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Finnegan was born in St. Louis, Missouri to Don and Linabelle Finnegan. She has three sisters, including Sarah, Hannah, and Jennah.[5] Their mother was born in the Philippines and was a resident of Caloocan City before moving to the United States at age 19 as a college student.[6]

Finnegan began gymnastics in 2005 and moved with her family to Kansas City in 2008 to train at Great American Gymnastics Express.[7]

Junior gymnastics career

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Level 10: 2016–2017

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Finnegan was a Junior Olympic athlete and competed at the 2016 and 2017 J.O Nationals. In 2016, she placed 29th in the all-around and seventh on the balance beam.[8] In 2017, she won gold in the all-around for the Junior-B division.[9]

Junior elite: 2018

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In 2018, Finnegan qualified to junior elite at Brestyan's National Qualifier.[10] She made her elite debut at the American Classic in July where she finished sixth in the all-around but won bronze on the balance beam.[11] Later that month, she competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic where she placed seventh in the all-around.[12] In August, she competed at her first National Championships where she placed 14th in the all-around, fourth on vault, 18th on uneven bars and balance beam, and 15th on floor exercise.[13][14]

Senior gymnastics career

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Representing the United States: 2019–2021

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Finnegan turned senior in 2019. In February, she was named to the team to compete at the International Gymnix in Montreal alongside Alyona Shchennikova, Sloane Blakely, and GAGE teammate Kara Eaker.[15] While there, she won gold in the team final and on vault; she received the fifth highest score in the all-around but did not place due to teammates Eaker and Shchennikova placing higher.[16] In June of 2019, Finnegan was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games.[17] At the 2019 GK US Classic, Finnegan placed seventh in the all-around. She also placed second on vault behind Jade Carey, twelfth on uneven bars, tenth on balance beam, and seventh on floor exercise. After the competition, she was named to the team to compete at the Pan American Games alongside Eaker, Morgan Hurd, Riley McCusker, and Leanne Wong.[18]

At the 2019 Pan American Games Finnegan competed on vault and floor, with both her scores contributing towards the USA's gold medal winning performance. Individually, Finnegan qualified to the vault final in fourth, behind Ellie Black of Canada, Yesenia Ferrera of Cuba, and Martina Dominici of Argentina. She also posted the fourth highest floor exercise score in the competition, but because teammates McCusker and Eaker scored higher than her, she was unable to compete in the final due to the two-per-country rule.[19][20] On the first day of event finals, it was announced that Finnegan had withdrawn from the vault final due to injury.[21][22]

 
Finnegan at the 2021 U.S. National Championships

At the 2019 National Championships, Finnegan finished thirteenth in the all-around. She also placed fourth on vault, thirteenth on uneven bars, fifteenth on balance beam, and sixth on floor exercise.[23] She was not named to the national team, but it was announced that she would receive an invite to the Worlds selection camp.[24] Finnegan competed at the U.S. World Championship trials on only the balance beam, receiving a score of 13.200, finishing twelfth on the event.[25] She was not named to the World Championship team after the trials.[26]

After the postponement of the 2020 Olympic Games, Finnegan had surgery to fix a fracture in the navicular bone.[27] In November 2020, she signed her National Letter of Intent with Louisiana State University.[28]

In May 2021, Finnegan competed at the 2021 GK U.S. Classic, finishing fifth in the all-around behind Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Kayla DiCello, and Grace McCallum. Additionally, she placed seventh on both the balance beam and floor exercise.[29] The following month, she competed at the 2021 National Championships. She finished twenty-third in the all-around after falling during three of the four apparatuses on the first night of competition. As a result, she was not selected to compete at the Olympic Trials.[30] Finnegan announced her retirement from elite gymnastics on June 11, intending to continue competing at the NCAA level with the LSU Tigers.[31]

Representing the Philippines: 2022–2024

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In March of 2022, it was revealed that Finnegan had decided to represent the Philippines in international competitions.[32] The nationality change was approved by the International Gymnastics Federation in May of that year.[33] At the 2021 Southeast Asian Games (postponed to 2022), she led the Filipino team to first place in the team competition. Individually she placed second in the all-around behind Rifda Irfanaluthfi of Indonesia. She also won gold on vault and silver on balance beam and placed fifth on the uneven bars.[34]

 
Finnegan (second from left) meeting President Bongbong Marcos

Finnegan competed at the 2023 Asian Championships. On the first day of competition, she helped the Philippines finish fifth as a team, and individually she finished sixth in the all-around. As a result, she qualified as an individual to compete at the 2023 World Championships.[35] During event finals, she won bronze on both vault and balance beam and finished fourth on floor exercise.[36][37] At the World Championships, Finnegan finished 32nd in the all-around, making her the second reserve for the all-around final. Additionally, she qualified for the 2024 Summer Olympics as an individual.[38][39]

Finnegan competed at the 2024 Olympic Games alongside fellow Filipina-Americans Levi Ruivivar and Emma Malabuyo. They were the first female Filipina artistic gymnasts to compete at the Olympics since Evelyn Magluyan competed at the 1964 Games.[40] During qualifications Finnegan finished 47th in the all-around. Additionally she finished seventeenth on vault, the highest vault placement for a Filipina gymnast at the Olympics.[41][42]

NCAA gymnastics career

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2021–2022 season

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Competing for the LSU Tigers, Finnegan made her collegiate debut on January 28 in a meet against Georgia. She only competed on the balance beam where she scored a 9.875.[43] She competed on balance beam at the SEC Championships, finishing seventh with a score of 9.925.[44]

2022–2023 season

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On February 3, 2023, in a meet against Georgia, Finnegan earned her first career perfect 10 for the LSU Tigers on the floor exercise.[45] The following week, she earned her second perfect 10 on vault against Auburn, winning the all-around ahead of Sunisa Lee with a score of 39.8.[46] On February 17, Finnegan scored a perfect 10 for the third week in a row, this time on the balance beam, helping LSU upset the No. 2 Florida Gators.[47] At the SEC Championships, she scored 9.950 on the floor exercise and finished in second place.[48] She also finished second on floor exercise at the NCAA Championships.[49]

2023–2024 season

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On February 16, Finnegan earned her fifth career perfect 10 on floor exercise in a meet against Auburn. The following week, she scored another perfect 10 on the event in an away meet against Florida.[50] At the SEC Championships, Finnegan contributed scores on vault, balance beam and floor exercise, helping LSU win the SEC conference title.[51] During the NCAA Championship semifinals, she won an individual national title on floor exercise with a score of 9.9625 and helped LSU advance to the final.[52] During the championship final, Finnegan scored a 9.9125 on floor exercise followed by a 9.8375 on vault. In the last rotation, she anchored the Tigers on the balance beam with a 9.950, clinching LSU's first national championship title in program history.[53][54]

Personal life

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Aleah Finnegan's sisters would also become competitive gymnasts. Sarah was an alternate for the 2012 U.S. Olympic Team, and Hannah competed for the Philippines at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games.[5] Their father died in August 2019.[55]

Competitive history

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Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Level 10
2016 J.O. National Championships 28 7
2017 J.O. National Championships     13   5
Junior elite
2018 Brestyan's National Qualifier  
American Classic 6 5 15   5
U.S. Classic 7 5 16 7 7
U.S. National Championships 14 4 18 18 15
Senior elite  
2019 International Gymnix    
U.S. Classic 7   12 10 7
Pan American Games   WD
U.S. National Championships 13 4 13 15 6
Worlds Team Selection Camp 12
2021 U.S. Classic 5 15 7 7
U.S. National Championships 23 23 18 14
NCAA   & Senior elite  
2022 SEC Championships 5 7
Southeast Asian Games       5  
2023 SEC Championships   4 7 28 6  
NCAA Championship 4 5  
Asian Championships 5 6     4
World Championships R2
2024 SEC Championships   13 20 41
NCAA Championship   24  
Olympic Games 47

Collegiate stats

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Career perfect 10.0

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Season Date Event Meet
2023 February 3, 2023 Floor Exercise LSU vs Georgia
February 10, 2023 Vault LSU @ Auburn
February 17, 2023 Balance Beam LSU vs Florida
February 24, 2023 Floor Exercise LSU @ Alabama
2024 February 16, 2024 LSU vs Auburn
February 23, 2024 LSU @ Florida
April 4, 2024 Arkansas Regional Semifinal

[49]

Regular season rankings

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Season All-Around Vault Uneven Bars Balance Beam Floor Exercise
2022 N/A N/A N/A 42nd 108th
2023 12th 30th 75th 6th 4th
2024 N/A 77th N/A 36th 9th

Notes

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  1. ^ Although born in the United States, Aleah Finnegan still possesses her mother's maiden name (Cruz) as is the convention in the Philippines as indicated on her birth record.[1]

References

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  1. ^ Missouri Birth Index
  2. ^ a b "FINNEGAN Aleah".
  3. ^ "Aleah Finnegan". USA Gymnastics. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  4. ^ "Aleah Finnegan". LSU Gymnastics. July 27, 2021. Retrieved April 1, 2024.
  5. ^ a b Bregman, Scott (October 27, 2023). "Opportunity knocked, Aleah Finnegan answered". Olympic Channel. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  6. ^ Fuertes, Rommel Jr. (July 25, 2024). "Paris Olympics: PH gymnasts compete with their Filipino families in mind". Philippine Daily Inquirer. Retrieved July 26, 2024.
  7. ^ Wijangco, Ashley (June 26, 2019). "Olympic hopeful Aleah Finnegan takes aim at Tokyo with sister Sarah's expert guidance". Dat Winning. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  8. ^ "2016 JO Nationals Level 10. Meet results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. May 11, 2016. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  9. ^ "2017 Women's JO Nationals. Meet results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. May 6, 2017. Archived from the original (PDF) on April 13, 2023. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  10. ^ "2018 Brestyan's National Qualifier Results". The Gymternet. June 26, 2018. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  11. ^ "American Classic Hopes Classic. Meet results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  12. ^ "2018 GK U.S. Classic. Meet results" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on December 21, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  13. ^ "2018 U.S. Championships - Women Day 2. Meet results - Multi" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  14. ^ "2018 U.S. Championships - Women Day 2. Event results - Multi" (PDF). USA Gymnastics. 2018. Archived from the original (PDF) on August 20, 2018. Retrieved April 11, 2023.
  15. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international team assignments". USA Gymnastics. February 24, 2019. Archived from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  16. ^ "USA wins four junior, senior event titles at 2019 Gymnix International". USA Gymnastics. March 10, 2019. Archived from the original on November 8, 2022. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  17. ^ "USA Gymnastics names eight women eligible for 2019 U.S. Women's Pan American Games Team". USA Gymnastics. June 23, 2019. Archived from the original on June 24, 2019. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  18. ^ "Biles, McClain win all-around titles at 2019 GK U.S. Classic". USA Gymnastics. July 20, 2019. Archived from the original on April 20, 2020. Retrieved July 22, 2019.
  19. ^ Lauren (July 28, 2019). "2019 Pan American Games Live Blog | Women's Qualifications, Subdivision 3". The Gymternet. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  20. ^ "USA wins women's team final at 2019 Pan Am Games". USA Gymnastics. July 27, 2019. Archived from the original on August 7, 2020. Retrieved July 28, 2019.
  21. ^ @USAGym (July 30, 2019). "Aleah Finnegan has withdrawn from today's vault final due to injury" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
  22. ^ "Neff, McCusker, Wong win event medals at 2019 Pan Am Games". USA Gymnastics. July 30, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  23. ^ "Biles soars to sixth U.S. women's all-around title at 2019 U.S. Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 12, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  24. ^ Reed, Becca (September 13, 2019). "15 Invited To U.S. Women's World Championships Selection Camp". FloGymnastics. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  25. ^ "Biles wins U.S. Women's World Championships Selection Camp all-around, automatically qualifies to 2019 team". USA Gymnastics. September 23, 2019. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  26. ^ Reed, Becca (September 23, 2019). "USA Gymnastics Announces 2019 U.S. Women's World Championships Team". FloGymnastics. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  27. ^ Wijangco, Amanda (November 20, 2020). "Aleah Finnegan Discusses Deltchevs And Diversity". FloGymnastics. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  28. ^ Berrio, Brandon (November 11, 2020). "Gymnastics Announces 2021 Signing Class". LSU Sports. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  29. ^ "Biles debuts unprecedented Yurchenko double pike vault en route to fifth GK U.S. Classic title". USA Gymnastics. May 22, 2021. Archived from the original on July 29, 2021. Retrieved May 24, 2021.
  30. ^ "Biles wins seventh national all-around championship, most in U.S. women's gymnastics history". USA Gymnastics. June 7, 2021. Archived from the original on August 1, 2021. Retrieved June 11, 2021.
  31. ^ "Heartbroken is an understatement. By far not the way I wanted to end my elite career but I have so much to be proud of". Instagram. June 11, 2021. Archived from the original on December 26, 2021.
  32. ^ Malanum, Jean (March 17, 2022). "Yulo banners SEA Games squad". The Manila Times. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  33. ^ "Official news from the Executive Committee - May 2022". International Gymnastics Federation. May 25, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  34. ^ "Exclusive: Aleah Finnegan overwhelmed by "love and support" at SEA Games". International Olympic Committee. May 16, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  35. ^ "Finnegan Qualifies For World Championships In Antwerp". LSU Sports. June 16, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  36. ^ "Finnegan cops bronze in Asian Championships". The Manila Times. June 17, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  37. ^ "Malabuyo bags silver, Finnegan nails bronze as PH women break through in Asian championships". Rappler. June 18, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  38. ^ "Finnegan Makes World Championship Debut; Books Olympic Ticket To Paris 2024". LSU Sports. October 2, 2023.
  39. ^ "Rendez-vous Paris 2024: See who qualified to the women's team competition!". International Gymnastics Federation. October 3, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  40. ^ Dioquino, Delfin (October 3, 2023). "'Dream come true': PH gymnast Aleah Finnegan books Paris Olympics ticket". Rappler. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  41. ^ "FINNEGAN Aleah - FIG Athlete Profile". www.gymnastics.sport. Retrieved July 29, 2024.
  42. ^ "The WAG Record Breakers in Paris". The Gymternet. August 6, 2024.
  43. ^ "LSU Gymnastics stuns a record-setting audience in win over Gold Medalist Suni Lee and Auburn". The Daily Reveille. February 6, 2022.
  44. ^ "Gymnastics Finishes Fifth at SEC Championships". LSU Tigers. March 19, 2022. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  45. ^ "Gymnastics Records Season High Score in Victory Over No. 17 Georgia". LSU Tigers. February 3, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  46. ^ "LSU's Aleah Finnegan steals show, but No. 5 Auburn prevails". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. February 10, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  47. ^ "Aleah Finnegan's perfect 10 on beam paces LSU gymnastics team to upset of No. 2 Florida". The Times-Picayune/The New Orleans Advocate. February 17, 2023. Retrieved February 24, 2023.
  48. ^ "Despite strong showing once again, LSU gymnastics finishes third at SEC Championships". NOLA. March 18, 2023. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  49. ^ a b "Aleah Finnegan". LSU Tigers. July 27, 2021. Retrieved February 25, 2024.
  50. ^ "Teams". Road to Nationals. Retrieved April 22, 2024.
  51. ^ "2024 SEC Gymnastics Championships Recap: LSU wins it all". Gymnastics Now. March 24, 2024.
  52. ^ "Bryant, Finnegan Named NCAA Champions". LSU Sports. April 19, 2024.
  53. ^ "2024 NCAA Women's Gymnastics Championships: LSU wins first title in program history". Gymnastics Now. April 21, 2024.
  54. ^ "LSU Gymnastics Claims First National Championship". LSU Sports. April 20, 2024.
  55. ^ @LSUgym (August 26, 2019). "Tiger fans, our thoughts and prayers are with the Finnegan family after the passing of Don Finnegan this weekend" (Tweet) – via Twitter.
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