Olympic Gymnast Ends Floor Routine With BLM Tribute

Luciana Alvarado of Costa Rica raised fist in the air, knelt
By Evann Gastaldo,  Newser Staff
Posted Jul 26, 2021 2:51 AM CDT
Olympic Gymnast Ends Floor Routine With BLM Tribute
Luciana Alvarado, of Costa Rica, performs on the floor exercise during the women's artistic gymnastic qualifications at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 25, 2021, in Tokyo.   (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

The first-ever Costa Rican gymnast to qualify for the Olympics used the end of her floor routine Sunday to make a big statement. Luciana Alvarado, 18, took a knee with one arm behind her back and the other raised in the air with a fist, NBC Olympics reports. (Watch the routine here.) She later confirmed it was choreographed as a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, the AP reports.

Alvarado said she wants to raise awareness of the importance of equal rights "because we’re all the same. And we’re all beautiful and amazing." NBC calls the demonstration "the first of its kind on an international stage in elite gymnastics." She scored a 12.166, which did not qualify her for finals. (More Tokyo Olympics stories.)

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