WATCH: Olympians Aleah Finnegan, Suni Lee cheer for Carlos Yulo
Screencap from aleahfinn/TikTok
Living up to the spirit of “Filipinos supporting Filipinos,” Filipino American gymnast Aleah Finnegan cheered on Carlos Yulo, the two-time Olympic gold medalist in the 2024 Paris Olympics, during his floor exercise finals. But she’s not alone.
In a TikTok video, the Fil-Am athlete, who represented the Philippines and became one of the first Filipina gymnasts in 60 years to compete in the Olympics, captured the winning moment of Yulo’s performance.
In the video, Finnegan joyfully shouted and rooted for Yulo as he completed his routine. She flashed on the clip, “POV: You’re watching your teammate become the first-ever Filipino male Olympic gold medalist,” and added in the caption, “THE ‘where were you when’ moment. #PINOYPRIDE.”
@aleahfinn THE “where were you when” moment. #PINOYPRIDE #philippines #olympics #gymnastics #carlosyulo #goldmedal #foryou
The video quickly garnered attention, with nearly one million views as of writing, especially when viewers noticed Suni Lee, the 2020 Olympic all-around gold medalist and uneven bars bronze medalist and the 2024 Olympic all-around and uneven bars bronze medalist from the US, cheering alongside Finnegan.
Comments on the video read, “tropa sila ni Suni Lee??!” [Are they friends with Suni Lee??!] and “omggg Suni Lee cheering for Caloy with Aleah??? This is the best thing I’ve seen today! You guys are the cutest!”
It’s worth noting that Finnegan, although representing the Philippines, is from the US, where she plays for Louisiana State University (LSU) and competes with the US gymnastics team.
For some, this moment was not surprising, as Lee was shown on television watching the finals. One user pointed out, “I didn’t [see] you [Finnegan] when Suni pops on TV. Now I [understand] why Suni is also cheering for Yulo. This is so cute”
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Finnegan, along with teammates Emma Malabuyo and Levi Jung-Ruivivar, fell short of a spot in the women’s artistic gymnastics finals. She recorded scores of 13.733 in vault, 12.566 in uneven bars, 11.466 on the balance beam and 12.733 in floor exercise.
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Carlos Yulo, on the other hand, made history by becoming the first Filipino athlete to win two Olympic gold medals in the same year, clinching victories in both the floor exercise and vault finals with scores of 15.00 and 15.116, respectively.
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