Pathum thani: Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan reaffirmed her status as the brightest star of the women's artistic gymnastics competition at the 33rd Southeast Asian Games, topping the vault apparatus final on Thursday at Gymnasium 5 of Thammasat University. Finnegan clinched her second SEA Games gold-her first coming in 2022 in Hanoi-after posting a 13.433, edging Vietnam's Thi Quynh Nhu Nguyen (13.400) and Malaysia's Kang Xian Yeap (12.966).
According to Philippines News Agency, Finnegan expressed the significance of her victory, stating, "This gold is incredibly special. A lot has happened behind the scenes, some personal challenges, but I kept pushing through all of it." She attributed her success to her faith, adding, "I prayed to Jesus all the time. I am nothing without Him, and I know He is with me."
Finnegan's victory was momentarily overshadowed by a scoring mishap. Officials initially displayed an incorrect score on the screen, causing a 30-minute delay before the judges corrected the mix-up and confirmed her as the gold medalist. "I was really nervous when they flashed the wrong score," Finnegan admitted. "We were all trying to figure out how they got that number. It was stressful and confusing, but in the end, I'm just thankful everything was corrected."
Gymnastics Association of the Philippines president Cynthia Carrion expressed confidence in the outcome. "From the moment Aleah finished her vault, I knew it was gold. We checked the score because we were sure there was a miscalculation, and I'm grateful the organizers fixed it," she said.
Finnegan now turns her focus to the balance beam final on Friday at 2:30 p.m. Meanwhile, her teammates also made significant strides, with Haylee Garcia securing silver in the uneven bars with a score of 12.333, and Justin Ace de Leon adding a pair of bronzes in the floor exercise (12.500) and rings (12.700).
In boxing, the Philippine team is assured of eight medals following Jay Brian Baricuatro's victory in the men's 48-kilograms quarterfinals at the Chulalongkorn University Sports Center. Baricuatro's convincing 5-0 win over Vietnamese opponent Linh Punh Nguyen secured his place in the semifinals, joining Ofelia Magno and others with at least a bronze-medal finish.
Association of Boxing Alliances of the Philippines (ABAP) secretary general Marcus Manalo emphasized the team's goal of securing gold medals. "May (eight) na tayo na assured bronze (We are assured of eight bronzes). Of course, you want a better color 'di ba?" Manalo stated.
In upcoming matches, Hergie Bacyadan will have the first shot at advancing to the finals against defending champion and Thai contender Manikon Baison in the women's 70kg semifinals, aiming for an assured silver. Other boxers still vying for a spot in the final four include Mark Ashley Fajardo, Junmilardo Ogayre, and Flint Jara. Claudine Veloso faced a challenging start, losing 5-0 to Vo Ti Kim Anh in the women's 54kg class.
