ALTHOUGH she won’t be around for the 32nd Cambodia Southeast Asian Games, outstanding Fil-Am gymnast Aleah Finnegan will have two chances to represent the country this year, beginning with the 10th Asian Artistic Gymnastics Championships from June 10 to 18 in Singapore.
“Finnegan has confirmed that she will compete for the Philippines in the Asian championships in Singapore,” a Gymnastics Association of the Philippines source, who declined to be identified, said.
In her Philippine debut, Finnegan, who turned 20 last Jan. 3, anchored the national women’s artistic gymnastics squad to a breakthrough team gold in the 31st Vietnam SEA Games last year plus another mint in the vault event.
She also added a pair of silvers in the individual all-around and balance beam in her maiden performance in the regional sportsfest.
She won’t be able compete in Cambodia after the hosts scrapped the women’s artistic gymnastics competitions from the calendar of disciplines.
The source said that Finnegan, who has been making waves as a sophomore for the Louisiana State University Tigers in the US NCAA Division 1 Southeastern Conference, is also being lined up to see action in the 19th Hangzhou Asian Games.
“The GAP also wants to field Aleah in the Asian Games where we believe she has a strong chance of securing a gold medal,” said the source, referring to the continental sports showcase scheduled Sept. 23 to Oct. 8 in the Chinese port city of Hangzhou.
Should that happen, Finnegan will be bidding to become the first Filipino gymnast to achieve a milestone podium finish in the quadrennial meet.
In the meantime, Finnegan has been one of the linchpins in her second year with the LSU Tigers.
Her latest achievement was a perfect 10 in the balance beam that lifted her squad to a thrilling upset win over the No. 2 University of Florida Gators last Feb. 17 at the Pete Maravich Assembly Center in Baton Rogue, Louisiana.
Performing in front of a hometown crowd and with action televised live on the ESPN sports network, Finnegan was flawless, boosting the Tigers to a hairline 148.350-148.075 victory over the Gators.
