Leanne Wong’s career consists of a long list of collegiate achievements with elite-level ambition, but her latest performance at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships added another layer to her narrative. Fresh off an NCAA season where she claimed the uneven bars national title for the University of Florida and collected silver in the all-around and vault, Wong transitioned back to elite competition with a decisive vault victory in New Orleans. She also finished second in the all-around, third on uneven bars, and fifth on both balance beam and floor exercise. Results that extended her tenure on the U.S. Senior National Team to a seventh consecutive year. Few athletes have managed such sustained excellence after completing a bachelor’s degree, making her inclusion in that exclusive group a significant milestone.
Her scores reflected a careful but effective competitive plan. Across two days, Wong posted a 14.00 and 14.50 on vault, giving her the event title. She earned 27.50 on uneven bars, 27.70 on balance beam, and 27.40 on floor exercise. Her combined all-around total of 111.20 placed her behind only Hezly Rivera.
“It was a really fun competition, you know, just finished college gymnastics like all four years it went by so fast so I’m like I’m not ready to put gymnastics away yet so let’s just see what I can accomplish this year and take it a year at a time,” Wong said after the meet.
That runner-up all-around finish carried weight beyond medals. Only Rivera secured automatic qualification to the World Championships through this event, leaving Wong to await the outcome of the World Team Trials at the end of September. For now, her name is absent from the confirmed roster, but she acknowledged the uncertainty with measured optimism. Wong further added, “Yeah, I’ve been training in the gym, obviously I didn’t compete vault or floor at classics so I kind of just want to ease into it I guess so day one I just kind of focused on one vault and just doing that confidently and then my timers felt good for my other vaults so I was like okay I’m gonna try it today and yeah I was really happy to do it.”
The transition from NCAA to elite competition requires precision in preparation, particularly after a lengthy collegiate season. Wong credited her strategic approach to managing workload. “Yeah, I mean I’m super blessed for this competition. Just coming into it, you know, I don’t normally only compete two events at classics so I was like okay this is new for me but I’m, I guess you could say, a seasoned gymnast so I have to learn to trust what I need and I think it was really smart to do two events and come in here and do four events,” she shared. The results validated her method, even if her route to Worlds now depends on a later selection.
Looking ahead, Wong admitted she has not finalized her plans for changes or upgrades before the World Team Trials. She expressed gratitude for her performance and the opportunities she has had, acknowledging that many assumed she might retire after her college career. Instead, she remains open to extending her elite journey, seeing this season as a chance to test how much more she can achieve before making a final decision about her competitive future. Before this massive win of Wong, in February 2025, Leanne Wong’s all-around mastery earned her Inside Gymnastics’ National Gymnast of the Week honor.
Leanne Wong’s precision and poise earned her the National Gymnast of the Week honor
In mid-February 2025, the University of Florida’s Leanne Wong stood at the forefront of collegiate gymnastics once again, earning the distinction of Inside Gymnastics National Gymnast of the Week. Her recognition followed a commanding performance in the Gators’ Link to Pink meet against Auburn, where she delivered the nation’s top all-around score of the weekend, a 39.75. That total included a perfect 10.0 on balance beam, her ninth on the apparatus, placing her in a tie with Alex McMurtry for second on Florida’s Career 10.0s chart.
Gymnastics – 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships – Sportpaleis, Antwerp, Belgium – October 1, 2023 Leanne Wong of the U.S. during the women’s qualification REUTERS/Yves Herman
The Auburn meet added significantly to Wong’s already formidable record for the season. It marked her fourth all-around title of 2025 and the eighteenth of her collegiate career, granting her sole possession of seventh place on Florida’s career all-around wins list. She also secured at least a share of four event titles that evening, matching McMurtry’s career total of 75 for seventh on the program’s wins chart. Her beam routine, which achieved the rare perfect mark, was her first 10.0 since the 2023 season and her third of the current campaign. Season-best scores on bars (9.975) and the all-around further distinguished the evening as one of her most complete outings.
By that point in the season, Wong led the Florida roster with 14 event wins and ranked among the nation’s elite in multiple categories, including No. 4 in the Road to Nationals all-around standings with a 39.540 NQS. Her consistency extended across apparatuses, with top-15 national positions on bars, vault, and floor. The combination of competitive steadiness, technical precision, and a clear command of high-pressure moments secured her place among the most accomplished performers in collegiate gymnastics at that juncture in 2025.
The post Leanne Wong Talks Retirement Plans After Narrowly Missing Worlds Spot to Hezly Rivera appeared first on EssentiallySports.