“As a competitive gymnast, the pressure and stress will always be there, set by you, your coach, or outside factors. It’s important to learn how to control the nerves when competing and learn to enjoy the moment.” Leanne Wong’s words once echoed wisdom, calm, and experience. But even the most composed athletes can have a breaking point, and unfortunately for Wong, it arrived at the worst possible time at NCAA Gymnastics Championship.

After a whirlwind journey that took her from the 2024 Swiss Cup straight into the NCAA postseason, things took a heartbreaking turn at the national semifinals. The University of Florida standout, known for her elegance and laser-sharp consistency, faltered in a moment that mattered most. Her performance didn’t count toward the team’s score, eliminating her from contention for the NCAA all-around title. A title, mind you, that she has never won in her collegiate career. What was supposed to be her crowning moment instead became a devastating footnote.

Senior writer for the Florida Gators, Scott Carter, took to X, posting, “Standings after first rotation: Oklahoma 49.4000, #Gators 49.3000, Missouri 49.2250, Alabama 49.1250.” It was a steady start for Florida, but not the explosive one they needed. On beam, Selena Harris-Miranda dazzled with a 9.9500, but Leanne Wong’s 9.8000 brought the rotation average down. Her score ended up being the lowest for the team. And that small slip echoed louder as the meet progressed. The vault rotation was a major blow! Florida posted their lowest vault total of the entire season. By then, Missouri had crept ahead, and the Gators found themselves scrambling. The pressure piled on for the bars, with their NCAA finals hopes teetering and Wong’s all-around title dreams slipping away by the second.

And this wasn’t just a bad day at the office. For Leanne Wong, it followed one of the most grueling travel experiences of her career. After representing the U.S. as an alternate in the 2024 Paris Olympics, she headed to the Swiss Cup. Only to be met with delay after delay. “I was super thankful to get there 24 hours later, until all of my bags did not show up. Everyone’s bags—my coach’s, my mom’s, like, all their bags—showed up, except for mine. So, I was like, “OK, this is going great, I guess’.” Despite the chaos, she still competed. But the toll was clear. Duo Leanne Wong and Fuzzy Benas placed 9th at the Swiss Cup. The 21-year-old’s measly 11.10 on the bar did little to salvage the situation.  Exhaustion lingered as she returned to NCAA competition, and on this big stage, it showed.

But the stumble at the uneven bars at the Swiss Cup is far from being a pattern. The Missouri native has once again proved to the world that she is still at the top and when required, she can rise to the occasion like no other.

A statement finish, Wong’s final bar routine said it all

While she has been far from the best version of herself of late, in true Leanne Wong fashion, she ended with a statement. One final score that reminded everyone who she is. A tweet on X captured the moment perfectly, “9.9375 for Leanne Wong on bars. She deserved that strong finish. Way to push to the very end.” After a semifinal stumble that cost her a shot at the NCAA all-around crown, Wong’s bar routine wasn’t just clean. It was defiant. In a meet where everything seemed to be slipping, this score was a bold punctuation mark.

Wong isn’t just another gymnast at the University of Florida. She’s a cornerstone. With the support of head coach Jenny Rowland and Florida’s world-class facilities, Wong has maintained a unique dual focus, balancing world-stage ambitions with the grind of NCAA gymnastics. Her 10.0 floor routine against LSU in February 2024 and near-perfect 9.9625 on bars earlier this season didn’t just showcase her skills. They made history. None of all this came easy.

As Wong once put it, “Training hard is doing the minimum. Training insanely means doing extra. If you really want it, you train insane.” Through relentless practice, unwavering loyalty to Florida, and the discipline to juggle two demanding worlds, she’s forged a path that’s as rare as it is admirable. Her semifinal heartbreak may sting for now, but that final bar routine? It was a quiet roar. A response to doubt.

She came back swinging, reminding everyone of her world-class caliber. But as brilliant as that routine was, it couldn’t change the math. Her earlier score still won’t count, and the all-around title. The one piece missing from her stacked résumé will have to wait. Even at her best, fate had other plans.