At the beginning of July, Finnegan competed at the Olympic Trials in San Jose, California. She placed sixth in the all around with a two-day combined score of 118.500. In events, she placed sixth on uneven bars scoring 29.150, fifth on balance beam scoring 29.900, and sixth on floor scoring 29.550. She was named as one of the three replacement Gymnasts for the 2012 Summer Olympics team known as the Fierce Five. In late 2012-early 2013, Sarah suffered an elbow injury preventing her from training at full strength.