Sarah Finnegan

Sarah Finnegan
— Gymnast —
Country represented  United States
Born November 14, 1996
Hometown St. Louis, Missouri, United States
Residence Kansas City, Missouri, United States
Discipline Women's artistic gymnastics
Level Senior International Elite
Club Great American Gymnastics Express
Head coach(es) Al Fong and Armine Barutyan Fong

Sarah Finnegan (born November 14, 1996) is an American artistic gymnast and an alternate for the 2012 Summer Olympics Gymnastics team.[1]

Personal information

Finnegan was born on November 14, 1996 to Don and Linabelle Finnegan. She has three sisters, Hannah, Jennah, and Aleah, who are all also gymnasts. Finnegan is home schooled in order to train as an elite gymnast.[1]

In 2008, she and her family moved from St. Louis to Kansas City, Missouri so that she could train at GAGE. She said, "When I was at my old gym, I went to Regionals in 2008 and I saw GAGE there and I was like, ‘Wow they’re really good - I want to be like that,’ so I talked with my parents and I’ve been there ever since." When asked how her gymnastics has changed she said, "It has improved a lot. I’ve gotten a lot stronger and my skills have improved. They focus on a bunch of technique and the little details have really helped me a lot. I really like trying new stuff. Especially tumbling passes and on beam. Just go up there and flip and twist and see what you come up with."[2]

Junior career

2010

In August, Finnegan competed at the Visa Championships in Hartford, Connecticut. She placed sixth in the all around with a two day combined score of 111.350.[3] In event finals, she placed fourth on balance beam scoring 28.400 and first on floor scoring 29.200.[4]

In September, Finnegan competed at the Pan American Championships in Guadalajara, Mexico. She contributed a balance beam score of 14.400 towards the American team's first place finish[5] and placed third in the balance beam event final with a score of 14.150.[6]

2011

In July, Finnegan competed at the Covergirl Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She placed fourth in the all around with a score of 56.650.[7] In event finals, she placed third on uneven bars scoring 14.200, seventh on balance beam scoring 14.200, and first on floor scoring 14.500.[8]

In August, Finnegan competed at the Visa Championships in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She placed third in the all around with a two day combined score of 115.300.[9] In event finals, she placed fifth on uneven bars scoring 27.800, third on balance beam scoring 29.050, and third on floor scoring 29.100.[10]

Senior career

2012

In March, Finnegan competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy. She placed third in the all around with a score of 58.650.[11] Finnegan said, "It was very cool that it was Italy. It was my second time there, but my first year I didn’t get to compete because I injured my back. Competing this time was really cool because I got to see how everything works and see where I am in the competition. I learned a lot."[2]

In May, Finnegan competed at the Secret U.S. Classic in Chicago, Illinois. She placed third on balace beam with a score of 14.900 and second on floor with a score of 15.200.[12]

In June, Finnegan competed at the Visa Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. She placed sixth in the all around with a two day combined score of 117.600.[13] In events, she finish second on balance beam scoring 30.400 and fourth on floor scoring 29.950.[14] She said, "It wasn't my best performance, but I have to learn from it and work hard and make it better for trials." Marta Karolyi said that Sarah is a "world-class gymnast, has the international look. She still has to get a tiny bit sturdier. Yesterday or the day before, the beam routine was solid and beautiful. Today it was a little bit shaky. She needs to work on just presenting very consistently what she can do."[15]

At the beginning of July, Finnegan competed at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California. She placed sixth in the all around with a two day combined score of 118.500.[16] In events, she placed sixth on uneven bars scoring 29.150, fifth on balance beam scoring 29.900, and sixth on floor scoring 29.550.[17] She was named as one of the three replacement gymnasts for the 2012 Summer Olympics team known as the Fierce Five.[18] In late 2012-early 2013, Sarah suffered an elbow injury preventing her from training at full strength.

2014

Finnegan was out of gymnastics from around 1 and a half years due to an elbow injury. In January 2014, Sarah traveled to Aiea, Hawaii with her GAGE teammates, including Brenna Dowell to compete at the Gymnastics in Paradise Invitational. This was the first meet of her 2014 season.

2015

Sarah and her sisters, who are involved in competitive gymnastics, moved back to St. Louis Gymnastics Centre in Webster Groves, Mo., a gym they used to train at until 2008.[19] Finnegan competed in a few Level 10 invitationals during the J.O. season.

Finnegan is set to join the LSU Lady Tigers gymnastics team in the Fall of 2015, following high school graduation.

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 ":: USA Gymnastics :: Sarah Finnegan ::". Usagym.org. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Getting to know Sarah Finnegan - Gymnastics News". NBC Olympics. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  3. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_10vc_jr_aafinals.pdf
  4. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_10vc_jr_eventfinals.pdf
  5. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_10panam_team.pdf
  6. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_10panam_eventf_2.pdf
  7. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_11cgc_jraa.pdf
  8. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_11cgc_jre.pdf
  9. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_11vc_jr_aafinals.pdf
  10. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_11vc_jr_eventfinals.pdf
  11. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12jesolo_sraa.pdf
  12. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12classic_sr.pdf
  13. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12vc_sr_aa.pdf
  14. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12vc_sr_events.pdf
  15. ↑ "Karolyi talks up St. Louisan Sarah Finnegan". Stltoday.com. 2012-06-11. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  16. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12ot_aa.pdf
  17. ↑ http://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_12ot_events.pdf
  18. ↑ "International Gymnast Magazine Online - Douglas Wins U.S. Olympic Trials". Intlgymnast.com. Retrieved 2012-07-04.
  19. ↑ http://gymdivas.us/profile_finnegan.htm

External links