Luciana Alvarado just did something that nobody thought would be possible, which was bring attention to inequality during her floor routine at the Olympics.
Costa Rica’s lone gymnast Luciana Alvarado finished her Tokyo Olympics floor routine Sunday by taking a knee and raising a fist in support of the Black Lives Matter movement. She told the GymCastic podcast afterward she wanted to show the importance of equal rights.
“My cousin and I, we both do it in our routines,” she said. “And I feel like if you do something that brings everyone together, you know, and you see that here, like ‘Yes, you’re one of mine, you understand things,’ the importance of everyone treated with respect and dignity and everyone having the same rights because we’re all the same and we’re all beautiful and amazing so I think that’s why I love to have it in my routine and I love that my little cousin does it on her routine too.”
She said it was choreographed to pay homage to the Black Lives Matter movement.
The International Olympic Committee said athletes can protest but not during a competition or on the medal stand. It doesn’t appear Alvarado would be taking the medal stand in Tokyo.
When it was all said and done, Alvarado failed to move into the finals of the competition.
