Overland Park’s Leanne Wong named replacement athlete for 2024 Olympic Games

Leanne Wong, an Overland Park native, now has two Olympic berths under her belt.

After taking part in the 2024 Olympic Trials hosted at Target Center in Minneapolis, the rising senior from Florida finished seventh overall and earned a spot as one of two replacement athletes being sent on behalf of the United States this summer in Paris.

Finishing above her were Joscelyn Roberson (replacement athlete), Hezly Rivera, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee and Simone Biles — the last of whom earned an automatic bid onto the 2024 U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Team before a committee decided the rest of the squad, including replacements.

For Wong, a shaky start to Day 1 was the likely culprit of her finish just outside the top 5.

“Day 1 wasn’t super strong,” Wong said. “But I came into Day 2 wanting to leave it all out there and that’s what I did today. … I never would have imagined myself competing at the Olympic Trials, so I’m super grateful for that.”

Grateful as she was, Wong made up for it in Day 2 to become just the 10th gymnast to be named to an Olympic roster after competing in a college season. The junior shared her excitement for having extra time to focus on training for the Olympics after her commitments at the University of Florida were finished.

Replacement or not, Wong will once again be in the spotlight.

Whether she gets a shot to shine in it remains to be seen, but she’ll be ready.

“It’s great to have that experience under my belt,” she said of competing as a replacement back in 2020 . “I’ve been to the Olympic Trials (before). I remember people explaining the competition to me … but it’s really not the same until you’re out there.”

The 2024 Olympic Games in Paris begin Friday, Jul 26.