SEA Games 2025: Aleah Finnegan wins vault gold in Thailand

Aleah Finnegan won gold on day one of the apparatus finals in the women’s vault artistic gymnastics competition Southeast Asian Games in Bangkok, Thailand, on Thursday (December 11).

The Paris 2024 Olympian scored 13.433 to finish ahead of Vietnam Thi Quynh Nhu Nguyen which scored 13,400, and Malaysia’s Kang Xian Yes (12,966), after a review.

That marks a fifth SEA Games medal for the US-born gymnast, who spent time in the Philippines to reconnect with her heritage ahead of the competition. SEA Games 2025.

The Filipina also claimed gold on vault at the 2021 Vietnam-hosted edition.

In the women’s bars final, Rachel Day Yes from Malaysia came out on top on 13,300, more than a point clear of her nearest rival, and Finnegan’s compatriot, Haylee Garcia (12,233). Singapore’s Colleen Hong Kaijia finished on the podium in third (10.933).

In the final on the men’s floor, the home crowd cheered on the history maker Tikumporn Surintorta, who became the first Thai gymnast to qualify for a World Cup final, eventually finishing fifth in Jakarta in October. Surintornta took first place with a huge score of 14,000, while that of Malaysia Luqman Al Hafiz Zulfa came second (12,833). Filipino Justine Ace de Leon earned the first of two bronze medals of the day with a score of 12,500.

De Leon, the teammate of two-time Olympic champion Carlos Yulocompensated for his compatriot’s absence by securing a second medal, in the men’s rings, with a score of 12,700. The podium was topped by Vietnam Nguyen Van Khanh Phong (13,767), a Summer Youth Olympic Games Buenos Aires 2018 alumni and those from Indonesia Mohammed Aprilal in second place (12,900).

Another Vietnamese winner competed on the men’s pommel horse Dang Ngoc Xuan Thien with a mighty score of 14.367 he emerged victorious in the year in which he also took first place at the FIG World Cup on the same apparatus in May.

Singapore’s Asher Pua finished second in the rings at the Thammasat University campus, with 13,100, while Malaysia’s Mohammed Sharul Aimy finished on the podium in third (12.267).

The second and final day of the apparatus finals takes place tomorrow (Friday, December 12) at the regional multi-sport event, with men’s vault, parallel bars and high bar, and women’s beam and floor.