Knee to the floor and fist raised, Costa Rican Luciana Alvarado Reid caught the spotlight on Sunday when she finished in that pose her presentation at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games with a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement; an unprecedented signal on an international stage in elite gymnastics.
The gesture was highlighted by media such as NBC’s Today and CBS News, in addition to the US news agency AP with its reproduction of several newspapers in English and Spanish. The Tica explained that with her signal she hopes to underline the importance of equal rights on a global platform, while advocating respectful and dignified treatment for all people. “Because we are all the same,” said Alvarado Reid. “And we are all beautiful and incredible,” she added.
One of ours
The gymnast said that she incorporates the pose into her routines. “I feel like if you do something that brings everyone together, you know, and you see that here, like, ‘Yes, you are one of ours, you understand things.’ The importance of everyone being treated with respect and dignity and everyone having the same rights because we are all equal and we are all beautiful and amazing, so I think that’s why I love having it in my routine and I love that my little cousin does it in her routine too, “he said.
This was Alvarado Reid’s only appearance at Tokyo 2020, as she received a score of 12,166 that did not allow her to advance to the final of the discipline. The signal made by the Costa Rican has its origin in the Black Lives Matter protests, which spread throughout the world after the murder of African-American George Floyd by Minneapolis police officer, Dereck Chavin, after he pressed his knee on neck for more than nine minutes.
