FORT WORTH, TEXAS – APRIL 16: Tiana Sumanasekera of the UCLA Bruins competes in floor exercise during the National Collegiate Women’s Gymnastics Championship held at Dickies Arena on April 16, 2026 in Fort Worth, Texas. (Photo by Chris Swann/NCAA Photos via Getty Images)
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She’s captivated gymnastics audiences nationally and internationally, from the U.S. Olympic Trials to the NCAA Gymnastics Championships. Now, 18-year-old Tiana Sumanasekera is ready to honor her heritage.
The 2024 U.S. Olympic alternate announced her decision to change her nationality with the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG) on Sunday, opting to represent Sri Lanka, her parents’ native country, instead of the United States.
Sumanasekera has been a staple on the U.S. Women’s National Team since 2021, collecting multiple Pan American titles and finishing third on balance beam at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
With her early international successes, she became the first gymnast of Sri Lankan descent to represent the United States on the world stage. Later in her elite career, she moved to the World Champions Centre in Spring, Texas, where she trained alongside Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles in the lead-up to the Paris Games.
In 2025, Sumanasekera joined the UCLA Bruins women’s gymnastics team, where she helped the Bruins to the 2026 Big Ten Championship title and a fifth-place finish at the 2026 NCAA Gymnastics Championships.
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Although the Pleasanton, California, native came up just short of making the competitive team in Paris, Sumanasekera eyes an opportunity to represent her family’s culture in her home state two years from now.
“My heart will always be proud to belong to both countries,” she shared in a social media post. “I could not be more proud and excited for this special opportunity. Competing at the Olympics would be an absolute dream come true, and having the chance to honor my heritage by doing it for a country I hold so close to my heart makes it that much more special.”
The decision echoes Sumanasekera’s longstanding dedication to her cultural expression, which she often portrays through her intricate, self-choreographed floor routines. Her most recent floor routine for UCLA generated significant media buzz for its dynamic Bollywood theme.
In addition to her personal connection to the country, Sumanasekera expressed a desire to amplify gymnastics in Sri Lanka.
“Gymnastics is so underrepresented in Sri Lanka and South Asia as a whole, so I am beyond honored to help bring representation to such a beautiful and diverse part of the world,” the gymnast wrote.
Sri Lankan gymnastics first made waves at the Tokyo Olympics, when 23-year-old Milka Gehani became the first Sri Lankan gymnast to compete at the Games. With ten active Sri Lankan athletes, Sumanasekera’s inclusion on the women’s national team should significantly bolster the nation’s program. At full strength, she could easily contend for World or Olympic balance beam and floor exercise finals.
The decision follows a recent trend of U.S. gymnasts switching nationalities to represent ancestral ties. In 2024, three former U.S. elite gymnasts made history by representing the Philippines at the Paris Olympic Games. At June’s Pan American Championships, University of Michigan gymnasts Jahzara Ranger and Sophia Diaz competed for Jamaica and the Dominican Republic, respectively.
PARIS, FRANCE – JULY 28: Aleah Finnegan of Team Philippines competes on the balance beam during the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Qualification on day two of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on July 28, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Naomi Baker/Getty Images)
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While Sumanasekera did not specify the date of her competitive debut for Sri Lanka, the elite competitive calendar is rapidly intensifying ahead of October’s World Championships in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Should Sumanasekera hope to compete in Rotterdam, she will need to qualify through a continental championship or through the FIG World Cup individual route. With the Asian Championships beginning on June 25 and the FIG World Cup route already underway, the window for the 2026 Worlds is likely closed.
While she is now eligible to compete for Sri Lanka at July’s Commonwealth Games, her path to LA 2028 begins squarely in 2027.
This article was originally published on Forbes.com
