Tokyo 2021: gymnast Luciana Alvarado pays tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement

Published on : 07/26/2021 – 03:01

Braving the IOC’s rules, Costa Rican gymnast Luciana Alvarado paid tribute to the “Black Lives Matter” movement on Sunday July 25 at the conclusion of her sequence on the floor during qualifying for the all-around competition for the Tokyo Olympic Games.

The 18-year-old, mixed race, finished her floor exercise by kneeling and raising her right fist in the air, her left arm behind her back, resuming the posture that has become famous in protest demonstrations across the world following the murder of American George Floyd last year by a police officer.

“I wanted to do something that brings people together, to say the importance of treating everyone with respect and dignity and that everyone has the same rights, because we are all the same, all beautiful and beautiful. the reason I love to incorporate (this movement) into my routines, ”said Alvarado, the first Costa Rican gymnastics qualifier for the Olympics.

This is the first time that this tribute to the “Black Lives Matter” movement, already seen several times in other sporting events, has appeared in an international gymnastics competition.

The CIO cautious about politics

Before the start of the Olympic Games, the IOC enacted a series of modifications to the Olympic Charter, which serves as a law, concerning the freedom of expression of athletes during the Games.

Olympics participants can now express themselves on political or societal issues when speaking to the media, during team meetings, on social networks and even just before the start of their events. However, the IOC still prohibits demonstrating during the events, on the podiums, during the anthems or in the Olympic Village.

Alvarado finished 51st in the all-around qualifying and will not compete in the top 24 final.

With AFP