Luisa Blanco | |||||||||||||||||||||
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Full name | Luisa Fernanda Blanco Saavedra | ||||||||||||||||||||
Country represented | Colombia | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former countries represented | United States | ||||||||||||||||||||
Born | Los Angeles, California | November 18, 2001||||||||||||||||||||
Hometown | Dallas, Texas | ||||||||||||||||||||
Height | 5 ft 2 in (157 cm)[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||
Years on national team | 2023–present (COL) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Club | Midwest Gymnastics Center | ||||||||||||||||||||
College team | Alabama Crimson Tide (2020–present) | ||||||||||||||||||||
Head coach(es) | Jess Graba | ||||||||||||||||||||
Former coach(es) | Yevgeny Marchenko | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Luisa Fernanda Blanco Saavedra (born November 18, 2001) is a Colombian-American artistic gymnast. 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.
Blanco was born on November 18, 2001, in Los Angeles, California.[2] Her parents, Sandra Saavedra and Mario Blanco, are immigrants from Colombia.[1][3]
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.[4] Then at the 2017 U.S. Classic, she tied with Kalyany Steele for the all-around bronze medal behind Alyona Shchennikova and Abby Paulson.[5] She then finished 12th all-around at the 2017 U.S. Championships.[6]
Blanco finished ninth all-around at the 2018 WOGA Classic and had the third-highest score on the balance beam.[7] Then at the International Gymnix in Montreal, she finished ninth in the all-around and on uneven bars and eighth on balance beam.[8] She also finished ninth all-around at the 2018 U.S. Classic.[9] She then finished 17th all-around at the 2018 U.S. Championships.[10] 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.[11]
Blanco graduated from Lebanon Trail High School one semester early and joined the Alabama Crimson Tide gymnastic team in January 2020.[12]
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's coach, Jess Graba.[3] She won the all-around and uneven bars titles at the 2023 Colombian Championships.[13] She was selected to represent Colombia at the 2023 Pan American Games where she helped the Colombian team place fifth.[14] Individually, Blanco qualified for the all-around final where she finished eighth with a total score of 50.099.[15] As the highest-placing athlete who was eligible for an Olympic berth, Blanco qualified for the 2024 Olympic Games.[16][17]
Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Elite | |||||||
2017 | WOGA Classic | ||||||
U.S. Classic | 13 | 12 | |||||
U.S. National Championships | 12 | 17 | 7 | 11 | |||
2018 | WOGA Classic | 9 | |||||
International Gymnix | 9 | 9 | 8 | ||||
U.S. Classic | 9 | 12 | 6 | 11 | |||
U.S. National Championships | 17 | 19 | 17 | 14 | |||
2019 | WOGA Classic | ||||||
NCAA | |||||||
2020 | SEC Championships | Canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in the USA [18] | |||||
NCAA Championships | |||||||
2021 | SEC Championships | ||||||
NCAA Championships | |||||||
2022 | SEC Championships | 12 | |||||
2023 | SEC Championships | ||||||
NCAA Championships | |||||||
Elite | |||||||
2023 | Colombian Championships | ||||||
Pan American Games | 5 | 8 | 7 |
Season | Date | Event | Meet |
---|---|---|---|
2021 | April 2, 2021 | Balance beam | Regional semifinal |
2023 | February 4, 2023 | Alabama vs Auburn | |
February 24, 2023 | Alabama vs LSU | ||
March 3, 2023 | Alabama @ Missouri |