Presently training in Manila, Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan is confident that the staging of the 3rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships next month will further accelerate the promotion and development of the dynamic Olympic sport in the country.
“I really think it is really important that our young girls will see high-level gymnastics in the Philippines,” Finnegan said of the blue-ribbon junior gymnastics competition set for Nov. 20 to 24 at the Manila Marriott Hotel Grand Ballroom, located inside the Newport World Resorts in Pasay City.
“Most of these young girls who may want to go into gymnastics just watch the athletes on TV or social media. But now we are actually bringing in high-level athletes to inspire and push them. It is the junior worlds, after all, so the athletes competing will be very talented,” she noted.
A double gold medalist in the 2023 31st Southeast Asian Games, the comely athlete said that hosting the global elite junior gymnastics meet supported by the Office of the President and the Philippine Sports Commission was timely, just a year over since Carlos Edriel Yulo scored a historic gymnastics Olympic golden double in the French capital.
“So the goal is that these Filipino athletes and gymnasts will be inspired once the gymnastics showcase gets going. We want to show the world that the Philippines is here to play,” Finnegan said. “We don’t want to be overlooked and show we really are pushing for the sports of gymnastics.”
