Who is Leanne Wong? Everything about the gymnast who came second to Simone Biles

The 19-year-old Leanne Wong achieved the second position next to legendary Simone Biles at the US Core Hydration Classic’s all-around event on August 5. The young gymnast of Florida Gators landed 14.15 points, which was the day’s third-highest vault mark.

The Kansas-born gymnast's parents, Marco Wong and Bee Ding are research scientists by profession. Besides being a gymnastics prodigy, Wong also took a keen interest in ice skating. From a young age, she began to display the mettle of her talent for the sport.

In 2017, she qualified as an elite gymnast at the Parkettes National Qualifier. Following this, the gymnast participated in several other reputed events like Secret US Classic and American Classic.

Leanne Wong at 50th FIG Artistic Gymnastics Championships - Day 7

In 2018, she competed at her first national championship where she was placed third in floor exercise as well as fifth in the all-around event.

Furthermore, the 2003-born gymnast also became a part of the Junior Pan American Championships team through the Auburn National Qualifier. In that competition, Leanne Wong won in the all-around event, including uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.

Later on, she made her international debut at the 2018 Junior Pan American Championships, winning a gold medal with her team, including notable gymnasts like Tori Tatum and JaFree Scott.

In the following year’s Pan American Games, she won another gold medal with her team and a silver medal in the uneven bars event.

In 2021, the gymnast was the silver medalist in the World Championship in Japan in the all-around category. In fact, she also achieved the bronze medal in the floor exercise event. In the following year, Wong won the gold medal with her team at the World Championship in Liverpool.

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Leanne Wong on handling college with gymnastics

Leanne Wong at the 2022 US Classic

Besides becoming a renowned gymnast, Wong is also a college student at the University of Florida. In 2022, when she was preparing for the World Gymnastics Championships selection camp, she explained her take on managing her academic and athletic world.

In an interview with Olympics.com, Wong said that attending college classes while practising elite gymnastics was a challenge. However, she was managing both tasks well.

Wong also mentioned that she liked college seasons more than world championships. Talking about her life in college, she also pointed out the lessons college has taught her about making dreams come true:

"College has helped me feel more confident when I'm competing because I just competed so much during the season. So, just getting in front of judges kind of brings you those butterflies. It was just really good practice for bigger meets too."