Costa Rica's first Olympic gymnast kneeled to honor the Black Lives Matter at the end of her routine

• Costa Rican gymnast Luciana Alvarado took a knee to honor Black Lives Matter at the Olympic Games.
• Alvarado ended her floor routine during Sunday's qualification round with a kneel and raised fist.
• Alvarado, who's 18, is the first Costa Rican gymnast to compete at the Olympics.

Costa Rican gymnast Luciana Alvarado ended her qualifying floor routine at the Tokyo Olympics on Sunday by kneeling with her first in the air. She told the Associated Press that the kneel and hand symbol was intentional, and that she incorporated the move to pay tribute to the Black Lives Matter movement following the killing of George Floyd in May 2020.

As NBC reported, Alvarado, who's 18, made history as the first Costa Rican gymnast to compete in the Olympics.

Journalist Paola Rojas shared a video on Twitter of Alvarado's qualifications routine. After completing her final tumbling pass, the gymnast is shown kneeling with her head back and her fist raised in the air.

In an interview for the podcast "GymCastic," Alvarado said her younger cousin is also a gymnast, and that both of them intentionally incorporate the kneeling pose into their routines.

Speaking about her choice to kneel and raise her first in her routine, Alvarado said in the "GymCastic" interview: "We're all the same and we're all beautiful and amazing. So I think that's why I love to have it in my routine and I love that my little cousin does it on her routine, too."

The International Olympic Committee has rules in place to limit protest behavior from athletes, but according to USA Today, the committee may not be able to penalize Alvarado for the kneel in her routine because she incorporated it as an artistic element.

Earlier in July, the International Olympic Committee updated its rules to allow athletes to express their views in some places during the Summer Games, like interviews, social media, and before the competitions begin, but they're still not allowed to demonstrate on the podium or during competitions, according to its website.

Alvarado scored a 12.166 on the floor in her routine, which did not qualify her to move forward to finals, NBC reported.

According to her Olympic athlete profile, Alvarado has been practicing gymnastics for 16 years.