The U.S. Olympic gymnastics team will be made up of five athletes, but 17 more U.S. athletes will head to Paris. Instead of competing for a spot on the U.S. Olympic team, U.S.-born athletes will be selected to represent Bulgaria, Colombia, Haiti, the Philippines and Syria, competing against fellow countrymen. These seven athletes are not the first, and they won't be the last, to change nationality for competitive purposes.
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil – August 7: Kylie Rae Dixon of Belarus … [+]
Competing for another country, a long-standing source of controversy in gymnastics, came to the forefront at the 2016 Rio Olympics, when American-born gymnast Kylie Dixon competed for Belarus, a country with which she has no blood or ties. Controversy erupted when her coach had ties to Belarus and was further fueled by Nelly Kim, chair of the International Gymnastics Federation's women's technical committee, which led Belarus to claim that Dixon's change of nationality was a calculated part of a “revival plan.”
But the execution of the plan was poor. Dixon's selection upset and confused fans: she had never been selected for the U.S. national team and was unlikely to win a medal on the international stage. At the same time, Belarusian media declared the attempt a “failure” after the Alabama-born gymnast placed a dismal 58th in the preliminaries.
Reflecting on the situation, U.S. Olympian John Roethlisberger said: Inside the gymnastics In the column,[s] Citizenship and nationhood mean much more than individual opportunities at sporting events.”
Dixon's case has received the most coverage due to her lack of ethnic ties and poor Olympic performance, but nationality changes for people of direct ancestry have been occurring for decades, often as athletes leave high-performing, developed gymnastics programs for countries with little gymnastics infrastructure.
In recent years, U.S.-born Toni Ann Williams and British-born Danusia Francis have represented Jamaica, the country of their parents' birth, in international competition. Heading into Paris, all six U.S.-born players will be representing a country with which they share ethnic ties.
The Philippine Olympic Committee (POC) has been active in recruiting athletes of Filipino descent, most notably recent NCAA champion Alia Finnegan, who will represent her mother's country.
Unlike Dixon, Finnegan's gymnastics was world-class when she competed for the U.S. Finnegan won a gold medal at the 2019 Pan American Games and is a three-time member of the U.S. national team. The Missouri native has wasted no time in building an impressive resume already. Since becoming a citizen in 2021, she has won the Southeast Asian Games and two bronze medals at the Asian Championships.
Antwerp, Belgium – September 29: Aleah Finnegan of the Philippines performs on the balance beam … [+]
Finnegan will be joined by 2021 U.S. Olympic alternate Emma Malabuyo and three-time U.S. national team member Levi Yung-Ruybivar, both of whom have ethnic ties to the Philippines. Malabuyo just made her mark on the Philippine record books. In May, she became the first Filipino woman to win an Asian championship when she won gold in the floor exercise. Yung-Ruybivar also won bronze in the uneven bars event.
St. Louis, Missouri – June 27: Emma Malabuyo warms up on the vault before the women's competition. … [+]
Together, the three will make history: the Philippines hasn't sent a female gymnast to the Olympics since 1964. Thanks to a concerted effort by the Philippines Gymnastics Federation and the strong performances of Finnegan, Malabuyo and Yun-Ruibivar, the trio will be sending in 2024. Teaming with Filipino men's star and two-time world champion Carlos Yulo, the athletes will head up the country's strongest contingent in history.
Additionally, former NCAA stars will be representing new countries on the women's side in Paris. 2021 NCAA beam champion Luisa Blanco earned her ticket to Paris after a strong showing at the 2023 Pan American Games. The Alabama Crimson Tide star will compete representing her parents' native country, Colombia.
Joining Blanco will be fellow NCAA champion Lindsay Brown, who after years of competing within the United States has chosen to represent her father's country, Haiti, in 2023. Brown did not technically qualify for Paris but earned it through the Tripartite Commission, a committee that awards Olympic spots to athletes from “under-represented” countries.
The men's winners of the three-way “universal spots” were also American athletes: Laith Nijar, a Chicago native and son of Syrian immigrants, will represent Syria in Paris after four years on the Syrian national team; and Kevin Penev, the American-born son of a Bulgarian gymnast, will also represent his parents' country in Paris.
Antwerp, Belgium – October 2: Lindsay Brown of Haiti reacts after completing the floor exercise … [+]
While all of these athletes have legitimate ties to their respective countries, their journey to Paris was not without controversy. In particular, the selection of Brown and Nyger by the tripartite committee drew intense scrutiny from the gymnastics community. As both athletes train with U.S. funding, fans argued that athletes from their under-represented countries should have been nominated.
Still, for these gymnasts, the opportunity to compete in the Olympics is alluring. And for their new federation, growing the sport is paramount. Jun Ruivivar, on her first visit to her grandfather's home country, said she is a Filipino gymnast. Daily Tribune “I just… [young Philippine gymnasts] Because they are the future of gymnastics in the Philippines.” Controversial or not, these American-born athletes will bring new attention to gymnastics in their respective countries.
