Costa Rican gymnast Luciana Alvarado supports the Black Lives Matter movement

Luciana Alvarado during her presentation in Tokyo 2020. (Credit: Costa Rican Gymnastics Federation)

(CNN Spanish) -

Luciana Alvarado, the first Costa Rican gymnast to qualify for the Olympic Games, ended her presentation in the floor gymnastics modality with a tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement, confirmed the Sports Federation of Gymnastics and Allies of Costa Rica .

The gymnast ended her routine with one knee on the ground and holding her hand up high, in a move similar to protests by some athletes in the US against police brutality suffered by black Americans.

In its Facebook account, the Federation said that Luciana Alvarado "showed her support for the #BlackLivesMatter movement, the first time that Giant! Has occurred in Olympic history."

Although the Olympians are prohibited from political demonstrations on stage and on podiums, the Alvarado pose was part of their choreography.

Quoted by the GymCastic podcast, Alvarado, 18, said the movement was intentionally prepared and added, according to the podcast, that it is important that everyone is treated "with respect and dignity."

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Support for Jacob Blake

The gymnast also has a link on her Instagram profile to a GoFundMe page to raise funds for justice for Jacob Blake, a black man who was shot by police officers in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in August 2020.

The 29-year-old black man was partially paralyzed after a bullet damaged his spinal cord, his lawyers said, and he is battling many other injuries.