Sri Lankan-American gymnast Tiana Sumanasekera has officially changed her sporting nationality from the United States to Sri Lanka, opening the door to represent the island nation in future international competitions.
The UCLA gymnast announced the decision on Sunday, saying she was proud to embrace the opportunity to compete for Sri Lanka, the country of her family’s heritage.
“I have decided to represent Sri Lanka. I could not be more proud and excited for this special opportunity,” Sumanasekera said in a statement.
Sumanasekera represented the United States for five years and was a non-travelling alternate for the U.S. women’s artistic gymnastics team at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She last competed internationally for the United States in 2025, helping the team secure gold at the Pan American Championships.
The 18-year-old said that competing at the Olympic Games while representing Sri Lanka would be a dream come true and expressed a desire to help increase the visibility of gymnastics in Sri Lanka and across South Asia.
“As a Sri Lankan-American, my heart will always be proud to belong to both countries,” she said.
Sumanasekera enjoyed a successful freshman season with UCLA in 2026, earning All-American honours in the all-around. She recorded career-high scores of 9.95 on both the balance beam and floor exercise and gained widespread attention for her Bollywood-inspired floor routine, which celebrated her South Asian heritage.
Her move is expected to further boost Sri Lanka’s growing presence in international gymnastics. In 2021, Milka Gehani became the first Sri Lankan artistic gymnast to compete at the Olympic Games when she represented the country at the Tokyo Olympics. In 2023, Amaya Sithumini Klukottage became the first Sri Lankan gymnast to compete at the FISU World University Games.
Sumanasekera is a five-time member of the U.S. national team and won team gold at both the 2023 Pan American Games and the 2025 Pan American Championships before switching allegiance to Sri Lanka. (Newswire)
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