Tanskanen Advances to Artistic Gymnastics World Championships All-Around Final
10/21/2025 3:30:00 PM | Gymnastics
The sophomore is the lone active NCAA women’s gymnast to make the all-around final.
Mizzou gymnast Kaia Tanskanen has advanced to the all-around final at the 53rd FIG Artistic Gymnastics World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia, representing her home country of Finland.
Competing among the world's best, Tanskanen secured a spot in Thursday's all-around final after placing 16th overall in qualifications with a total score of 50.866. The top 24 gymnasts advanced to the finals, which begin at 6:30 a.m. CT on Thursday, October 23.
"It means so much to be able to represent Finland at a world championships all-around final," Tanskanen said. "It's crazy to think how far I've come since competing for Finland, and I plan to keep growing and aiming for more."
Tanskanen is one of only two gymnasts from women's NCAA programs to qualify for the all-around final, joining Florida's Leanne Wong, and is the only active NCAA women's gymnast competing in this year's final.
Tanskanen posted consistent performances across all four events, including a 13.300 on vault, 12.500 on uneven bars, and personal bests on balance beam and floor exercise, scoring 11.900 and 13.166, respectively.
"Kaia's performance at World Championships was very exciting, but by no means surprising," said associate head coach Whitney Snowden, who has worked closely with Tanskanen in preparation for international competition. "She's been diligent about not only upgrading her difficulty but also refining her execution. I'm so proud of her for pushing herself to debut a new bar routine and an upgraded floor routine, both important steps toward the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles."
This is Tanskanen's first time reaching the finals of the World Championship. The 2025 event marks her third time competing in the event, and it will be her first since 2023. Her previous highs at the World Championship are as follows: 13.333 on vault (2023), 12.600 on bars (2023), 11.333 on balance beam (2023) and 12.800 on floor (2022).
Tanskanen competed 12 times over the course of her freshman season at Mizzou, mainly competing in vault and floor. In her five floor routines, Tanskanen scored 9.8750 or higher four times, highlighted by a 9.900 in her collegiate debut on the apparatus against Georgia on February 21. During her 11 appearances on vault, she scored 9.8000 or higher seven times.
Tanskanen comes from a family of gymnasts, with her father, Juha, having competed at the World Championships for Finland, while her mother, Kim, attended Iowa on a full-ride athletic scholarship. In addition, her uncle, Jani, won the High Bar World Championship while competing for Finland.
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