American Gymnast Aleah Finnegan To Compete For The Philippines At the Southeast Asian (SEA) Games

Earlier this month, American gymnast Aleah Finnegan said that she is open to compete for The Philippines. Now, it is officially announced t...

Earlier this month, American gymnast Aleah Finnegan said that she is open to compete for The Philippines.

Now, it is officially announced that Finnegan will represent The Philippines at the 31st Southeast Asian (SEA) Games, which is scheduled from May 12 to 23 in Hanoi, Vietnam.

"Cat’s out of the bag!! So beyond blessed and excited for this opportunity!🇵🇭❤️," the American born gymnast tweeted.

Cat’s out of the bag!! So beyond blessed and excited for this opportunity!🇵🇭❤️ https://t.co/mR6IrMn4Bb

— aleah (@aleahfinn) March 18, 2022

The 19 year old gymnast is of Filipino heritage. Her mom, Linabelle, was born and raised in the Philippines. Her eldest sister, Hannah, competed for the Philippines at the Southeast Asian Games in 2011. 

Sarah, Aleah's older sister, was an alternate for the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnastics team.

Aleah competed for the US team at the 2019 Pan American Games, where they won gold.

She was not named to the 2019 US World Championship team. She also did not qualify to the US Olympic trials in 2021, where the Tokyo Olympic team got selected.

Finnegan announced her retirement from elite gymnastics last June and made her NCAA gymnastics debut earlier this year.