K-Pop is taking over the 2024 Paris Olympics! During the women’s artistic gymnastics qualifying round, 29-year-old Mexican athlete Alexa Moreno wowed viewers and K-Pop fans alike with her incredible floor routine set to a medley of Stray Kids songs.
Starting with the powerful beats of “S-Class” from the group’s album 5-Star, Moreno aced flips and moves before transitioning into Oddinary hit “Maniac.” Finally, she ended her routine with somersaults over Rock-Star‘s “Lalalala”, earning huge applause from the crowd in the arena.
¡Gran presentación de Alexa Moreno 🇲🇽❤️!
Aquí la rutina de piso de Alexa Moreno en el All Around 🤸♀️ de #Paris2024 pic.twitter.com/VNIUXDvofu— México en París 2024 🇲🇽🇨🇵 (@MParis2024) July 28, 2024
A clip of Moreno’s performance soon began racking up hundreds of thousands of likes on social media, with both STAYs and sports fans calling the performance “incredible.” The gymnast went on to earn a score of 12.8 for her floor exercise, bringing her total up to a commendable 50.799 points across all apparatuses. Given that Moreno previously announced she’d be retiring after the 2020 Summer Olympics and recently suffered a knee injury, she’s become a source of pride for all her hard work.
While thousands of STAYs were happily shocked to hear the group’s music, it was no coincidence that Moreno chose a Stray Kids song for her performance, as Mexican gymnastics enthusiasts who keep up with her will know well. The popular athlete (who has over 300,000 Instagram followers) has been a fan of the group for years now, mentioning how much they’ve influenced in her in past interviews.
Back in 2022, she was also seen attending Stray Kids’ second world tour MANIAC at their Kia Forum, Los Angeles show — and fans have even been trending a special hashtag, #STAYconAlexaJJOO24 (“STAY with Alexa, Olympic Games 2024“), to show their support.
Desde Latinoamérica le mandamos todo el apoyo a nuestra STAY @alexa_moreno_mx y todo su equipo mexicano el día de hoy, Alexa estará hoy presentándose con el apoyo musical de Stray Kids en los #JuegosOlimpicosdeParis2024 🔥
Si te quieres unir usa: #STAYconAlexaJJOO24 pic.twitter.com/h9gsb2ZJhP
— STRAY KIDS LATAM PROJECT (@skzlatamproject) July 28, 2024
Interestingly, this won’t be the only time you’ll hear Stray Kids at the Olympics this year. Not only has it also been played as background music…
GUYS IM SHAKING https://t.co/HUaQow9kIq pic.twitter.com/dUvHoeyEtD
— 🌙 PandaByHeart 🌙 (@PandaByHeart_) July 28, 2024
… but Boryana Kaleyn, famed Bulgarian rhythmic gymnast, is also planning to perform her hoop routine to “S-Class” later on in the competition next month! Kaleyn recently showcased her routine at the Rhythmic Gymnastics World Cup Challenge 2024, and her performance went viral with Korean netizens following Moreno’s own routine.
어떤 선수가 체조 노래 특으로 했대ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋㅋ찐임ㅋㅋㅋㅋㅠㅠ pic.twitter.com/l1ooD8kyYe
— ㅌㅊㅅ 채복 (@chaebok_325) July 28, 2024
