Wong wins U.S. junior women’s all-around at 2018 U.S. Gymnastics Championships

BOSTON, Aug. 19, 2018 – Leanne Wong of Overland Park, Kansas/Great American Gymnastics Express, won the junior women’s all-around at the 2018 U.S. Gymnastics Championships, the national championships for men’s and women’s gymnastics. Held at the TD Garden, the U.S. Gymnastics Championships is part of the Team USA Summer Champions Series, presented by Xfinity.

Wong earned 55.850 points on the second day to secure the junior women’s all-around title with a two-day total of 112.250. Kayla DiCello of Boyds, Md./Hill’s Gymnastics, placed second with a total of 111.200, and Sunisa Lee of St. Paul, Minn./Midwest Gymnastics Center, rounded out the top 3 with a score of 111.050. The individual event winners are listed below.

  • Vault: Di Cello, 29.650
  • Uneven bars: Lee, 29.550
  • Balance beam: Konnor McClain, Cross Lanes, W.Va./Revolution, 28.150
  • Floor exercise: Wong, 27.250

Event scores for top five in junior all-around

  • Leanne Wong: 112.250 (55.850), all-around; 29.350 (14.750), vault; 28.600 (14.250), uneven bars; 27.050 (13.450), balance beam; 27.250 (13.400), floor exercise.
  • Kayla Di Cello: 111.200 (55.950), all-around; 29.650 (14.900), vault; 28.300 (14.100), uneven bars; 27.250 (13.800), balance beam; 26.000 (13.150), floor exercise.
  • Sunisa Lee: 111.050 (55.150), all-around; 27.750 (13.500), vault; 29.550 (14.750), uneven bars; 27.900 (13.850), balance beam; 25.850 (13.050), floor exercise.
  • Skye Blakely: 109.300 (54.500), all-around; 28.900 (14.500), vault; 27.650 (13.700), uneven bars; 26.250 (13.000), balance beam; 26.500 (13.300), floor exercise.
  • Konnor McClain: 108.700 (54.200), all-around; 27.150 (13.550), vault; 28.050 (13.750), uneven bars; 28.150 (14.150), balance beam; 25.350 (12.750), floor exercise.

Fourteen of the 16 2008 Olympians and alternates were recognized in Boston during the senior women’s session: women – Shawn Johnson East, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Samantha Peszek, Bridget Sloan and alternates Jana Bieger and Ivana Hong; and men – Alexander Artemev, Raj Bhavsar, Joey Hagerty, Jonathan Horton, Justin Spring, Kevin Tan and David Durante, alternate. Corrie Lothrop and Alicia Sacramone Quinn were unable to attend the August 19 recognition.

2018 marks the 10th anniversary of the 2008 team’s 10-medal performance at the Olympic Games, which at that time was the USA’s most medals since the 1984 Olympic Games in Los Angeles and at a non-boycotted Olympic Games. The medal tally of 10 included two gold, six silver and two bronze.

The women and men won the silver and bronze team medals, respectively. The individual medalists were: Liukin – all-around gold, uneven bars and balance beam silver and floor exercise bronze; Johnson East – balance beam gold and all-around and floor exercise silver; and Horton – horizontal bar silver.

2008 is the only time the United States has won team medals at consecutive Olympic Games for both the men and women. Liukin and Johnson became the first U.S. women to go one-two in the all-around. The U.S. women won eight total medals (two gold, five silver and one bronze), topping China’s six. Liukin tied the U.S. gymnastics record of five Olympic medals at one Olympics set by Mary Lou Retton (1984) and matched by Shannon Miller (1996) and later by Simone Biles (2016).

The U.S. Championships determines the men’s and women’s U.S. champions and U.S. National Teams for the junior and senior elite levels. The championships also will serve as part of the selection process for the U.S. Team for the 2018 World Championships.

The roster of former U.S. all-around champions is a veritable who’s who of gymnastics, including: women – Simone Biles, Jordyn Wieber, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson, Carly Patterson, Courtney Kupets, Shannon Miller, Dominique Dawes, Kim Zmeskal and Mary Lou Retton; and men – Sam Mikulak, Jonathan Horton, Paul Hamm, Blaine Wilson, John Roethlisberger, Tim Daggett, Mitch Gaylord, Peter Vidmar and Bart Conner.

While Boston played host to the 2008 U.S. Women’s Gymnastics Championships, 2018 marks the event’s debut at the TD Garden and the first time Boston has staged the national championships for both men’s and women’s gymnastics. In addition, Boston was the site for the 1996 and 2000 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials and several post-Olympic gymnastics tour events.

The U.S. Gymnastics Championships traces its history back to 1897 for the men and 1931 for the women.

Background

  • TD Garden. TD Garden, owned and operated by Delaware North, first opened its doors to the public on September 30, 1995. In the 20-plus years since, the venue has generated more than $365 million in direct economic impact to the Greater Boston region from its major national events alone, not including its high-profile Bruins and Celtics tenants. The arena has played host to countless marquee events, including the Democratic National Convention, NHL All-Star Game, NCAA Frozen Fours, NCAA Women’s Final Four, U.S. Olympic Trials – Gymnastics, U.S. Figure Skating Championships and ISU World Figure Skating Championships among others. Delaware North, owner and operator of TD Garden, is one of the largest privately-held hospitality and food service companies in the world. Founded in 1915 and owned by the Jacobs family for more than 100 years, Delaware North has global operations at high-profile places such as sports and entertainment venues, national and state parks, destination resorts and restaurants, airports, and regional casinos.
  • Team USA Champions Series. The Team USA Champions Series, presented by Xfinity, is composed of both a summer and winter season, showcasing elite U.S. athletes year-round through broadcasts on NBC, NBCSN, and the Olympic Channel: Home of Team USA. America’s elite athletes are always in season. The champions series was created to help showcase their year-round quest to make Team USA and compete at the Olympic Games.
  • USA Gymnastics. Based in Indianapolis, USA Gymnastics is the national governing body for gymnastics in the United States. The organization is committed to creating a culture that empowers and supports its athletes and focuses on its highest priority, the safety and well-being of the athletes. USA Gymnastics has already taken specific, concrete steps to strengthen its safe sport policies and procedures. The organization’s disciplines include men’s and women’s artistic gymnastics, rhythmic gymnastics, trampoline and tumbling, acrobatic gymnastics and gymnastics for all (formerly known as group gymnastics). For more complete information, log on to usagym.org.