BATON ROUGE, La. (BPROUD) — LSU gymnastics star Aleah Finnegan went from qualifying for the Olympics to winning a national title in less than a year.
If you ask her which moment meant more to her, that’s one she can’t answer.
“I think both moments are so, they’re such, they hold such a special place in my heart, both different goals that I’ve wanted to reach pretty much my entire life,” Finnegan said. “And for them to both happen less than a year of each other is, you know, really just icing on the cake.”
Finnegan, who is competing at the international level for the Philippines, punched her ticket to Paris in October, just three months before her season with the Bayou Bengals began.
“I think there’s a lot of differences between the two types of competitions,” Finnegan explained. “Obviously, one, you have 19-20 girls behind you cheering you on. In the other, you know, maybe it’s, if you’re lucky, three or four. The environment’s a lot different. We compete in the PMAC in front of 12,000-13,000 fans and some of these competitions, maybe they only have like 500.”
From heartbreak to Olympian: LSU gymnastics star Aleah Finnegan’s path to 2024 Paris Olympics It’s environments like the one LSU fans create in the PMAC that truly helped Finnegan in her preparations for Paris.
“I’ve gotten a lot of questions being like, how are you preparing for this you know, upcoming Olympics? And that is the preparation,” Finnegan said. “If I can do it in front of all of these people. I’m thankful that, that is the preparation because most gymnasts, maybe they have three or four competitions in a year before leading up to it. So, that competition experience is really crucial, you know, for me, leading up to the summer.”
The junior from Missouri also learned to be rock solid at LSU, sealing the program’s first national title with one final beam routine.
“Before she went on beam, I just went over to her and was like, this is nothing like you’ve hit beam on the international stage to clinch a spot to go to Paris because she ended on beam actually at Worlds and that’s what helped her qualify to Paris and is like, this is nothing for you,” said Garrett Griffeth, LSU gymnastics assistant coach.
“I think going into the summer, it really just if anything, it just helps build my confidence and knowing that like no matter what circumstance I’m in, no matter what kind of like the situation looks like, the gymnastics, at the end of the day, it stays the same,” Finnegan said.
Finnegan is also bringing a piece of the bayou with her to Paris, Griffeth. Griffeth has been coaching Finnegan since her freshman year and will be her lone coach on the floor for the Olympics.
“I’m tremendously honored,” Griffeth said. “Like, I love going through this process with her. It’s been such a journey since we started. We went to Vietnam, her first international meet, and it just kind of, with each meet, it’s just cool to experience with her. She’s got four great coaches, and she could choose anybody, but definitely honored to be with her.”
While Finnegan is over in Paris, she knows she has the support of LSU right behind her.
“I have just been so overwhelmed with so many kind messages,” Finnegan said. “So many people who are rooting for me and excited for me. I’m really excited to represent the Philippines, but I’m also representing LSU. I’m representing Louisiana. I’m representing, you know, my home state as well. And so, I want everyone to know that this is also for them as well.”
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