Aleah Finnegan

Don Tagala

TFC News

Filipino-American gymnast Aleah Finnegan flies to Paris on Friday to represent the Philippines in the Summer Olympics.On her last week of training, she gave ABS-CBN News&#x27; North America bureau a look into the final days of her practice at Louisiana State University.It was in LSU&#x27;s gymnastics training center that the 21-year-old spent her time preparing for the Paris Games.<div><a href="https://news.abs-cbn.com/sports/10/03/23/dream-come-true-filipina-gymnast-finnegan-qualifies-for-2024-olympics">Filipina gymnast Finnegan qualifies for 2024 Olympics </a></div>&quot;I&#x27;m truly blessed to have the opportunity to be able to live out my dreams right now,&quot; said Finnegan. &quot;To be able to represent the Philippines at the highest level of gymnastics is just an incredible opportunity.&quot;The Philippines has not been able to send female gymnasts since the 1964 games. But this year, Finnegan joins Levi Jung Ruivivar of Stanford University and Emma Malabuyo of UCLA in Paris.Finnegan described being one of the few Filipino gymnasts at the Games as a feat and an honor.The two-time Southeast Asian Games medalist is also grateful for the country’s continued support for her.&quot;I&#x27;ve competed for the Philippines for the past few years now and just they&#x27;ve embraced me with everything,&quot; she said, &quot;with all the love and support that I have received, it&#x27;s special to me.&quot;The proud Fil-Am said she is ready to represent the Philippines where her mother Linnabelle was born and raised.&quot;Each competition that I go to is an opportunity to give back to my mom,&quot; Finnegan added. &quot;And give back to my family [for] the sacrifices that they made for me to be able to do gymnastics.&quot;Finnegan though said that gymnastics has not been all sunshine and rainbows. Her first bid for the Olympics in 2020 did not turn out exactly as planned.Her childhood dream was shattered at the time, which almost pushed her to give up gymnastics for good. But a call from the Gymnastics Association of the Philippines to compete in the 2022 Southeast Asian Games changed all that.Not only did she win gold at the SEA Games and Asian Gymnastics Championships, but she also earned her spot in Paris at the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.&quot;I&#x27;m just so thankful for my mom and my sister’s support,&quot; said Finnegan, &quot;the coaches, for pushing me to just go for no matter what happened. I didn&#x27;t know what the outcome was going to look like even just for that one competition.&quot;Her family&#x27;s unconditional support is a huge thing for Finnegan, especially from her mother. Despite the challenges, she said making it to the Paris Games is a dream come true.&quot;The Olympics [is the] peak of your gymnastics career,&quot; she said. &quot;Gymnastics doesn&#x27;t have a pro sport like this is the pro version of it. You can&#x27;t do it for so long unless you&#x27;re the rare kind that goes longer than most.&quot;Training for a few hours, four days a week, is not enough for Finnegan. But with the training she got from her Philippine and U.S. coaches, she said she is ready to give it her best in Paris.

Finnegan looks back on the Philippines' support for her as she represents the country in the Olympics.

Finnegan looks back on the Philippines' support for her as she represents the country in the Olympics.

Aleah Finnegan looks back on support, love from PH as she heads to Paris Olympics | ABS-CBN

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Aleah Finnegan looks back on support, love from PH as she heads to Paris Olympics

Aleah Finnegan looks back on support, love from PH as she heads to Paris Olympics

Don Tagala,

TFC News

Published Jul 12, 2024 11:53 AM PHT

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Updated Jul 23, 2024 09:11 PM PHT

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Aleah Finnegan

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