Last year was a landmark one for Aleah Finnegan.
She was one of the standout performers for LSU Gymnastics all season long and capped the Tigers’ dominant 2024 NCAA showing with a 9.95 on the balance beam, securing the first national championship in program history.
“Going into 2024, we all came together as a group and we decided that we were going to do whatever it takes to be able to make it to the top,” Finnegan tells 225. “So to be able to be there in that moment, and represent our alumni for all of the generations of teams that have tried to make that a goal for the longest time, was such a dream come true for us.”
The memories didn’t stop there.
Just a few months later, Finnegan traveled to France to represent the Philippines in the 2024 Paris Olympics, becoming part of the first Filipina gymnastics team to compete in the games in more than six decades.
“I’ve wanted to go to the Olympics since I was 5 years old,” Finnegan says. “People would always ask me, ‘What do you want to be when you grow up?’ People would say a doctor or astronaut. I wanted to be an Olympian. … Being in the village and in the arena itself, competing and watching the people wave their Philippine flags—it was an incredible moment.”
Finnegan and her family have been closely knitted to the Filipino national team for years. Her mother was born and raised in the Philippines and her older sister, Hannah, competed for the team at the 2011 Southeast Asian Games.
That helped pave the way for Finnegan to represent the country at the 2021 Southeast Asian Games and the 2023 Asian Championships before earning her spot on the Olympic roster for 2024.
“To be able to compete for the Philippines is such an honor in itself,” Aleah says. “And being able to represent my mom and our family and just all the sacrifices that they’ve made is incredible.”
The star senior is hoping she and the Tigers can continue to build on their successes this spring.
At press time, LSU was ranked No. 2 in the country ahead of the SEC Championship and NCAA Championships, slated for the end of March and early April, respectively.
Finnegan says that with a strong freshman class and a number of returning upperclassmen, the Tigers have their eyes set on another deep run at the NCAA Championships.
“Overall this year, we’ve done an incredible job of really just not letting anything faze us,” Finnegan says. “We’ve been very straightforward with every competition and very locked in on what our mission is. … We know essentially what it takes. We’re really motivated to see what the rest (of the season) has for us.”
This article was originally published in the April 2025 issue of 225 Magazine.
