Aleah Finnegan savors ‘most special’ SEA Games gold

BANGKOK, Thailand – Aleah Finnegan calls her latest gold medal in the Southeast Asian Games as the “most special one,” not only for the hardships she endured but also for the anxious moments she went through before her victory got certified.

Finnegan delivered the Philippines’ first gymnastics gold in the 2025 SEA Games as she captured the women’s vault crown at the Thammasat University Rangsit Campus in Pathum Thani following a nervy wait on Thursday, December 11.

Her triumph did not come without suspense as the scoreboard showed Finnegan in silver-medal position with an average of 13.334 points behind Vietnam’s Thi Quynh Nhu Nguyen, who netted 13.400 points.

But it turned out to be a scoring error, with Finnegan ultimately earning 13.433 points for the gold following a recomputation that took about an hour for the official confirmation.

“All I wanted to do was hit a clean vault and then we hit the clean vault and it took us forever to get the results. I was kind of chasing around the arena trying to figure out what our final score was because we weren’t really sure,” a teary-eyed Finnegan told Filipino reporters.

“It didn’t really hit me until we got up on the podium where they officially announced it. I’m just so overjoyed, I’m just so thankful for all the support and I’m just so happy.”

Finnegan won her third SEA Games gold overall as she ruled the same event in the 2021 Vietnam edition and led the Philippines to the team crown.

That was the first time Finnegan represented the Philippines following her switch from the United States, yet her win in this SEA Games proved much sweeter.

“I think today is the most special one. There’s just been so much change that has happened, especially me being in the Philippines from August up until now,” said the 2024 Paris Olympian.

“My grandmother had passed away, I moved to a different country, figuring out so many news, having some personal issues that go on behind the scenes.”

The Philippines captured four gymnastics medals on Thursday, with Haylee Garcia bagging silver in women’s uneven bars and Justine Ace de Leon clinching bronze in men’s floor exercise and still rings.

Finnegan has a chance to complete a hat trick of golds as she competes in the balance beam, where she is the top qualifier, and floor exercise, where she ranked second in the qualifications, on Friday, December 12. – Rappler.com