Florida Gators

GAINESVILLE, Fla. — If you were among the sold-out crowd Friday night at Exactech Arena or watching on television and don't know the difference between, say, a Yurchenko double full and a tumbling pass, it didn't matter.

Not when you watched Gators freshman Leanne Wong perform.

Wong combines the grace of a ballerina and silkiness of a hawk soaring through the air when she competes. Here is a transcript of her performance in the floor exercise in late October at the World Championships in Kitakyushu, Japan:

Starts well, controls the double spin. Very good double twisting double back. Classical routine, this, but that is a great tumble, whipping to triple twist. Good height on the leaps. Needs a forward tumble somewhere, here it comes, two-and-a-half twist into a full twisting front, very good. Come on, needs a big finish, lovely landing. Well, an elegant and well performed routine there from Leanne Wong.

Wong's floor performance earned her a bronze medal, and combined with her other routines, Wong departed Japan as the all-around silver medalist. Another moment in a year full of them for Wong, a member of the Florida gymnastics team's decorated freshman class.

Wong accomplished the feat in Japan while already enrolled in online classes at Florida. Soon after returning home from the Tokyo Olympics, where as an alternate on Team USA, she had to quarantine for 14 days when teammate Kara Eaker tested positive for COVID-19, Wong arrived in Gainesville.

She unpacked some belongings, attended freshman orientation, enrolled in classes and quickly departed to return to her home in a Kansas City suburb to train for the World Championships. Following her two-medal trip to Japan, Wong returned to UF to acclimate to college life and join the Gators.

"Talk about commitment," Gators coach Jenny Rowland said. "She's just an amazingly focused person and student-athlete."

On Friday night, those among the 9,173 at the O'Dome witnessed Wong's exceptional talent at UF's annual Link to Pink Meet, a victory over No. 13-ranked Arkansas. In the fourth meet of her college career and second time competing in the all-around, Wong claimed her first all-round title with a score of 39.625.

And that was Wong's second-most impressive feat of the evening.

Wong notched the uneven bars title after teammate Savannah Schoenherr nearly pulled off a perfect score with a 9.975. If you know how the sport's scoring works, you know what that means.

Wong registered the first perfect 10 of her gymnastics career with a performance worthy of whatever adjective you prefer: graceful, sparkling, elegant, fluid, or, perhaps best, beautiful.

Wong came close the previous week, scoring a 9.975 on bars in Florida's win at Georgia.

"I really didn't know what to expect, just competing every single week," Wong said. "That's just really different from what I'm used to. One of my goals this year was to get a 10. From the beginning, I just couldn't think, like, 'I need to get a 10, I want to get a 10.' I just had to focus on what I needed to do to get a 10."

She got it, sparking a massive reaction from the crowd and her teammates, who rushed the floor and immediately began to flash the "10 sign" by holding up all their fingers.

Nothing Wong has done in her brief time with the Gators is surprising to those who have followed her career. In her international senior debut three years ago at the American Cup, the then-15-year-old Wong won the all-around title and gold in the vault and beam.

"It's definitely a stepping stone,'' Wong told reporters.

The performance raised her profile for a potential spot on the U.S. Olympic Team, which came to fruition when she earned a spot as an alternate. Of course, last summer, her trip to Tokyo was derailed by the COVID-19 quarantine, but that hasn't slowed her progression since.

In a college gymnastics season Rowland considers the most competitive ever with newcomers such as U.S. Olympians Suni Lee (Auburn), Jade Carey (Oregon State), Jordan Chiles (UCLA) and Grace McCallum (Utah) joining the collegiate level, Wong fits right in.

She followed her perfect score on the uneven bars Friday with a personal-best 9.925 on beam. Wong is just getting started.

The writer Ernest Hemingway once defined courage as grace under pressure. If that's true, Wong has courage to spare.

Wong has adapted and thrived in a year full of chaos and change.

"Just being a Florida Gator is so special, and just getting to compete,'' she said. "It's just a different level of pressure. Even though this is not the world stage, I'm still competing for my team."

The Gators are glad to have her.