Gators gymnast Leanne Wong hands out flowers to UF students prior to last week's Link to Pink Meet. (Photo: Bryce Mitchell/UAA Communications)
Carter's Corner: Gators Gymnast Wong Talks The Talk, Walks The Walk
Friday, February 21, 2025 | Gymnastics, Scott Carter
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By: Scott Carter, Senior Writer
GAINESVILLE, Fla. — Leanne Wong is doing an interview. She stands before a half-dozen cameras and a couple of local sports writers. She answers questions about the fifth-ranked Florida gymnastics team's meet Friday night at No. 1 Oklahoma. Wong flashes a big grin and politely answers each inquiry.
I watch for a few minutes, the grizzled veteran of the assembled media contingent that consists of several UF student journalists, a Gainesville Sun reporter and a local TV cameraman. I've been in countless media scrums, from tense MLB clubhouses to dusty horse racing tracks to this one Wednesday afternoon inside the Ted Crom Gymnastics Studio.
You hear many interesting stories and meet many diverse people doing this for any stretch of time. That's what keeps it fresh. As Wong talks about the showdown with the Sooners, her co-SEC Gymnast of the Week honor and her perfect 10 on beam in last week's win over Auburn, my mind drifts to when I was Wong's age.
That's when I started my journey here, plopped at my home desk writing these words. They were good times, and I learned something new every day about reporting, writing, storytelling and most importantly, myself. I was focused and determined to achieve a goal but could get sidetracked during those college years.
As I listened to her talk, the thought of Wong veering off course seemed unimaginable. She is a high achiever, a trait common to most UF student-athletes, especially those in gymnastics. Some of the most impressive athletes I have encountered here are gymnasts. Reaching for the stars seems to be in their DNA.
Wong is a superstar.
"I don't think I've ever given Leanne Wong a pep talk," Gators head coach Jenny Rowland said. "Truly, that's the professionalism since the day she showed up on campus."
UF senior Leanne Wong during her beam routine in last week's win over Auburn. (Photo: Morgan Hurd/UAA Communications)
The interview eventually turned from the Gators' matchup with Oklahoma to Wong and her busy schedule. Having written about Wong many times in the last four seasons, the gymnastics part of her story is familiar.
She was a standout elite gymnast and alternate on the U.S. Team at the Tokyo Olympics before her first season with the Gators in 2022. Wong has continued to excel at the collegiate level, scoring 10s on each event during her career and winning 18 all-around titles, including a week ago against Auburn.
In college gymnastics, Wong is one of the sport's most visible ambassadors. Perhaps never more than last summer, when she was named an alternate for Team USA in the Paris Games for the second time. She didn't compete, but Wong trained with the best of the best, calling Olympic champions Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee teammates. Leanne Wong is always in demand after meets to sign autographs with young fans. Photo by Morgan Hurd
Wong basked in the moment. She visited the Eiffel Tower. She took a photo with Snoop Dog. She took a boat ride on the Seine. She continued her international tour in November when, before her final season with the Gators, Wong competed in Zurich at the Swiss Cup.
Wong seems never to slow down.
"She is extremely unique and talented and more driven than anything," Rowland said. "She has the ability to compartmentalize. She is quickly able to reset and refocus."
Wong is so good at what she does, so steady in her performances, perfect scores and event titles have become the norm. So, earlier in the season, observers took notice when Wong showed some unsteadiness on her beam mount – a move she carried into the college season from her elite routine.
Wong decided the mount wasn't ideal for her collegiate beam routine and returned to her usual approach. Her scores have improved, and as the regular season enters the home stretch, the Gators are in a strong position to make another run toward the NCAA Championships.
"That's the goal, just continue to improve," Wong said. "I think I am where I want to be. The whole college experience has gone by so fast. I remember being a freshman. It just flies by. It's really [about] taking in every moment."
Wong is destined to be one of the most accomplished gymnasts in school history, regardless of how the Gators finish. However, as anyone who knows much about Wong, that is just a tiny part of her impact.
She is a high achiever on a team loaded with them.
"She has some superhuman force within her that I really wish I had sometimes," Rowland said.
A few months after name, image and likeness (NIL) entered college athletics, Wong started her own business in December 2021, named LeanneWongBowtique.com, an online retailer that sells Wong-designed hair bows and gymnastics leotards. She regularly participates in team charity functions and is on a pre-med track in her studies.
But that's not all.
"I excel with a lot of things going on," Wong said.
Wong teamed up with her mother, Dee Bing, to write a book, "My Journey: Trust the Process," which details her rise in the sport and the lessons she has learned along the way. The book was released in June 2024. Meanwhile, as if she didn't have enough going on, Wong founded the Leanne Wong Foundation in September 2024 to raise awareness of food waste and help provide local charities with food to feed the homeless and underprivileged.
The idea originated when she noticed how much food was thrown away at UF dining halls and special campus events.
"It makes everyone a lot happier to know they don't have to throw it away," Wong said.
Wong is an active participant, delivering food to GRACE Marketplace, a Gainesville homeless shelter, and regularly posting on the foundation's Instagram page to raise awareness.
Wong talks the talk and walks the walk.
"Her character: selfless," Rowland said. "It shines through in many aspects of her life."
Professional and college athletes, deserving or not, are often looked up to as role models — people who, no matter your age, you can learn something from.
Wong is one of them, the real deal who can impress even a grizzled veteran in a media scrum of student journalists trying to figure out their own path to success.
One final question: Does she ever sleep?
"Sometimes," she says, then she's off on her next adventure.
