Luisa Fernanda Blanco Saavedra (born November 18, 2001) is a Colombian-American

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

. She competes for the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastic team and is the 2021 NCAA Champion on the balance beam. She will represent

Colombia at the 2024 Summer Olympics Colombia is scheduled to compete at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris from 26 July to 11 August 2024. It will be the nation's twenty-first appearance at the Summer Olympics except for Helsinki 1952. Competitors The following is the list of numb ...

Early life

Blanco was born on November 18, 2001, in Los Angeles, California. Her parents, Sandra Saavedra and Mario Blanco, are immigrants from Colombia.

Gymnastics career

2017–2019: Elite

Blanco made her elite debut at the 2017 WOGA Classic. She did not compete in the all-around, but she posted the highest score of the competition on the balance beam, and she won silver with the WOGA team. Then at the

2017 U.S. Classic The 2017 U.S. Classic, known as the 2017 Secret U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, was the 34th edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on July 29, 2017, at the Sears Centre Arena in the Hoffman Estates sub ...

, she tied with Kalyany Steele for the all-around bronze medal behind

Alyona Shchennikova Yelena Aleksandrovna "Alyona" Shchennikova (russian: Елена Александровна "Алёна" Щенникова, born May 12, 2001) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the U.S. National Team from 2017–19 and was the ...

and Abby Paulson. She then finished 12th all-around at the 2017 U.S. Championships. Blanco finished ninth all-around at the 2018 WOGA Classic and had the third-highest score on the balance beam. Then at the

International Gymnix The International Gymnix is a major international annual gymnastics competition. It is held in Montreal, Canada, with a senior and a junior tournaments. It was organized for the first time in 1991. It is the largest international gymnastics competit ...

in Montreal, she finished ninth in the all-around and on uneven bars and eighth on balance beam. She also finished ninth all-around at the

2018 U.S. Classic The 2018 U.S. Classic, known as the 2018 GK U.S. Classic for sponsorship reasons, is the 35th edition of the U.S. Classic gymnastics tournament. The competition was held on July 28, 2018, at the Schottenstein Center in Columbus, Ohio. Medalists ...

. She then finished 17th all-around at the 2018 U.S. Championships. At the 2019 WOGA Classic, she competed on the uneven bars where she had the highest score of the meet and on the balance beam where she finished second behind

Sloane Blakely Sloane Blakely (born December 23, 2002) is an American collegiate artistic gymnast and was a member of the United States women's national gymnastics team. She is currently competing for the Florida Gators in NCAA gymnastics. She is the older si ...

2020–2023: NCAA

Blanco graduated from

Lebanon Trail High School Lebanon Trail High School is a public high school located in Frisco, Texas, United States that is part of the Frisco Independent School District. The school opened its doors in August 2016 for the 2016–2017 academic year. The school is the dist ...

one semester early and joined the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastic team in January 2020.

2023: Elite return

In 2023, Blanco announced that she was returning to elite gymnastics and switching nationalities to represent Colombia. She began training at Midwest Gymnastics Center with

Sunisa Lee Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born Sunisa Phabsomphou; March 9, 2003) is a Hmong American artistic gymnast. She is the 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Champi ...

's coach, Jess Graba. She won the all-around and uneven bars titles at the 2023 Colombian Championships. She was selected to represent Colombia at the 2023 Pan American Games where she helped the Colombian team place fifth. Individually, Blanco qualified for the all-around final where she finished eighth with a total score of 50.099. As the highest-placing athlete who was eligible for an Olympic berth, Blanco qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.

Competitive history

Career perfect 10.0

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blanco, Luisa 2001 births Living people Alabama Crimson Tide women's gymnasts American sportspeople of Colombian descent Colombian female artistic gymnasts Gymnasts at the 2023 Pan American Games