Florida’s Leanne Wong competes on vault for U.S.
The United States opened action in World Gymnastics Championships team qualification Saturday at the M&S Bank Arena in Liverpool, England. The U.S. tallied a 167.263 to top subdivision 1 action. Women’s team qualification action continues on Sunday, with subdivisions 3-10 competing.
Gator sophomore Leanne Wong competed vault for U.S. She performed two vaults but cannot advance to the event final as the U.S.’s and fellow NCAA competitors Jade Carey (Oregon State) and Jordan Chiles (UCLA) topped the subdivision’s vault standings. After the 10 qualification sessions are complete, the overall top eight advance to the apparatus finals. Each apparatus final can contain no more than two from a nation.
The women’s team final is Tuesday, Nov. 1, with action beginning at 2:30 p.m. ET. All medal-round sessions stream on NBC’s Peacock. The top three teams secure spots in the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
U.S. World Championships Subdivision I Scores
Oct. 29, 2022
Event
Skye Blakely
Jade Carey
Jordan Chiles
Shilese Jones
Leanne Wong
Vault*
14.600/14.366
14.466/14.166
14.200
13.766/13.10
Bars
12.566
13.333
14.066
14.566
Beam
13.733
13.133
11.366
13.200
Floor
13.600
14.066
14.100
13.800
All-Around
55.132
53.998
55.766
*first/second vault. Not all competed two vaults
2022 World Championships Women’s Team Qualification scores<https://live.gymnastics.sport/live/15871/womensqual.php?app=tm>
Wong was named to the six-member U.S. roster for the World Gymnastics Championships<https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=27962> a week ago at the team selection camp in Katy, Texas.
NCAA Influence on U.S. Worlds Roster
Prior to the 2022 World Championships, just six competed as a collegiate and was part of the U.S. World Championships team in the same calendar year. That number now stands at nine as Wong, Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and Jade Carey (Oregon State) all competed as freshmen in 2022 NCAA action.
Wong won all-around silver and floor exercise bronze at the 2021 World Championships in Japan. She is just one of three U.S. gymnasts ever to compete as a collegiate in between consecutive World Championships.
Name
College (years)
World Championships
Medals
Leanne Wong
Florida (2022-
2021 & 2022
2021 World Silver (all-around), floor (bronze); Four All-America honors in 2022 NCAA Championships, including 5th in all-around
Alicia Sacramone
Brown (2007)
2006 & 2007
2006 World Silver (team)
2007 World Gold (team), floor (silver), bronze (vault); competed as individual at 2007 NCAAs (9.85 FX)
Kathy Johnson Clarke
Centenary (1978-79)
1978 & 1979
1978 Worlds bronze (floor); Swept 1978 AIAW Championships event titles (small colleges division)
Of the Gators currently enrolled at UF, Wong among four to compete at a World Championships. Morgan Hurd (2017 & 2018), Riley McCusker (2018) and Kayla DiCello (2021) also represented the U.S. in World Championships action. McCusker and Hurd won team gold in 2018. Hurd won the 2017 World Championships’ all-around title and DiCello took all-around bronze in 2021.
About Leanne Wong:
* 2021 World Championships all-around silver medalist; floor exercise bronze
* One of four replacement gymnasts for U.S. Olympic Gymnastics team and traveled to Tokyo for Summer Games.
* 2022 OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships co-uneven bars champion; tied for fifth on balance beam<https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/2022/w_22champs_srevents.pdf>
* 2022 U.S. Classic all-around, vault and floor exercise champion<https://myusagym.com/meets/future/83109/results/167126/>
* Member of 2022-23, 2020-21, 2019-20 and 2018-19 U.S. Senior National teams<https://usagym.org/pages/women/history/past_nat_teams_sr.html> and 2018-19 and 2017-18 U.S. Junior National teams<https://usagym.org/pages/women/history/past_nat_teams_jr.html>
* Eight-time All-American in 2022 – four honors in NCAA Championships’ competition was high among freshmen
* 2022 Southeastern Conference balance beam champion (9.975)
* Runner-up in 2022 NCAA Auburn Regional all-around (39.875) with nation’s second highest total of 2022
* Two 10.0s in 2022 – uneven bars (vs Arkansas) and vault (NCAA Auburn Regional final). Owns collegiate best of 9.975 for beam and floor exercise
World Championships’ schedule (all medal-round sessions stream live on NBC’s Peacock)
Oct. 29-30 Women’s Team Qualifications.
Nov. 1 Women’s Team Final – 2:30 p.m. ET
Nov. 3 Women’s All-Around Final – 2:45 p.m. ET
Nov. 5 Women’s Vault & Uneven Bars Final – 9:30 a.m. ET
Nov. 6 Women’s Balance Beam & Floor Exercise Final – 8:30 a.m. ET
World Gymnastics Championships competition schedule<https://www.2022worldgymnastics.com/tickets/>
