Surging Leanne Wong seeks third-straight trip to World Gymnastics Championships

It seemed like Leanne Wong had glue on her feet.

The 19-year-old American gymnast soared through the air at the recent 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in San Jose, California, and came down with the ease of someone hopping off a curb.

But far from hopping off a curb, Wong was performing daring elements on the floor exercise on a triumphant second day of competition.

Her double-twisting, double back and double layout were landed near perfectly that Wong, coupled with her trademark artistry, captivated the crowd of nearly 12,000.

"At the end of my routine, I heard the crowd scream. I mean, it was so much louder than day one,” said Wong afterward. “I really had a great routine so I really held that ending and enjoyed it.”

Her floor routine was just one highlight of many for Wong at the U.S. championships, where she finished third in the women's competition behind Simone Biles and Shilese Jones, the 2022 World all-around runner-up. It was Wong’s best finish at the event across her four appearances as a senior.

With a third-straight trip to the World Championships on the line this week at the U.S. World Selection Event in Katy, Texas, Wong will hope to continue her momentum from San Jose all the way to Antwerp, Belgium.

Same talent, fresh approach

Wong has long had the talent.

Her arrival on the U.S. elite gymnastics scene in 2017, where she finished fifth nationally as a junior was followed up with a junior title a year later.

She was part of the 2019 Pan American Games team that won gold and served as an alternate to the USA team at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, held in 2021.

A few months later, Wong debuted on the world stage, taking part in her first World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan.

There, she won silver in the all-around and bronze on the floor exercise.

In 2022, Wong helped the U.S. squad to a historic sixth-straight win at the global event, despite injuring her ankle just week prior.

But in 2023, something looks different: Wong.

The rising junior at the University of Florida has taken a different approach to many of her peers, who after Tokyo went to compete for their respective universities but are now back at their club programs.

Instead, Wong remains in Gainesville, working with university coaches Jenny Rowland and Owen Field, though she remains close with her former coaches who were there to greet her after that magnificent floor routine.

The change, however, is evident beyond Wong running off the podium while performing the “Gator chomp,” it’s the ease of her approach.

“I'm just really enjoying the sport and competing for fun and not putting too much pressure on myself,” said Wong of her visible joy at nationals. “Right now, I feel like my coaches at Florida and I work really well together, so I'm just really enjoying this relationship.”

This week, in Katy, outside Houston, Wong hopes that all comes together once again for a trip to the global stage.