Aleah Finnegan of the Philippines celebrates after winning gold in the vault final of women's artistic gymnastics in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games, December 11, 2025 at the Thammasat University in Pathum Thani in Bangkok, Thailand. POC Media
Paris Olympian Aleah Finnegan lived up to her billing as one of the brightest stars in women's artistic gymnastics in the 2025 Southeast Asian Games on Thursday.
Finnegan topped the vault final at the Thammasat University in Pathum Thani in Bangkok to claim her first gold medal in the 33rd SEA Games -- and second after a triumph in Hanoi in 2022.
She posted a score of 13.433, edging Vietnam's Thi Quynh Nhu Nguyen (13.400) and Malaysia's Kang Xian Yeap (12.966).
"This gold is incredibly special," the 22-year-old said. "A lot has happened behind the scenes, some personal challenges, but I kept pushing through all of it."
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She added that her faith carried her through the moment. "I prayed to Jesus all the time. I am nothing without Him, and I know He is with me."
The victory came with a brief scare, as moments after Finnegan's routine, officials flashed an incorrect score on the screen. The American-born Filipina waited nearly 30 minutes before judges corrected the mix-up and officially 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 said she never doubted 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," said Carrion.
Finnegan now turns her focus to the balance beam final on Friday at 2:30 p.m.
Meanwhile, Haylee Garcia secured silver in the uneven bars with a score of 12.333, while Justin Ace de Leon added a pair of bronzes in the floor exercise (12.500) and rings (12.700), completing a strong day for the Philippine gymnastics team.