Entering the second week of the NCAA gymnastics competition, Leanne Wong is a gymnast for the Florida Gators who is excited about starting the season. Wong is juggling the rigors of the academic season with her 2024 Paris Olympics aspirations this year. After being named as an alternate for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, the 20-year-old gymnast had to miss out on her ultimate goal.

Wong is more focused on her collegiate competition, showing a shift in priorities from her former experiences in the elite gymnastics world. Now as the preseason No. 2 Gators gymnastics team enters the 2024 season in front of a sellout audience, Wong shares a positive update with fans.

Leanne Wong favors college gymnastics in 2024

Leanne Wong’s commitment to the college gymnastics scene was apparent under the bright lights of the 2024 SEC Championships. After a thrilling 9.875 on vault, she led the Gators to a strong second-place result (9.925). In her recent Instagram post, Wong shared a carousel of images from her meet wearing a bedazzled black leotard followed by pictures of interacting with young fans in the arena.

She captioned the post, “the fun begins: “every great journey starts with a single step!”” Wong underlined the benefits of managing both collegiate and elite gymnastics in an insightful interview with Olympics.com. She has also been a consistent success for the Gators, as seen by her two SEC beam titles and fifteen All-American honors. However, despite maintaining a string of U.S. Team Gymnastics World’s successes, Wong’s Olympic debut experience put her passion for the sport to the test.

The missed Olympics opportunity

Wong’s quest for an Olympic medal met an upturn when her roommate Kara Eaker tested positive for COVID-19 in the first few days of preparation. Wong qualified as an alternative for the Tokyo Games, however, had to spend 10 dreary days in a hotel room, forced into quarantine even though her test results were negative.

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Later Wong said, “It was definitely an experience, but not the Olympic experience I had envisioned.” Despite her experience, she has skillfully juggled elite and NCAA tournaments, helping the United States squad win gold in the 2022 and 2023 World Championships. Wong claims that in terms of her gymnastics career and personal development, deciding to continue her education was the best course of action.

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