overshadowed the anticipated dominance of Leanne Wong and Jade Carey. While Wong traveled with Team USA as an alternate in the 2020 Olympics, Jade Carey picked up a gold medal on the same stage. Yet, in the NCAA arena, Bryant’s stellar performance propelled her to claim the coveted All-Around Title, marking one more stellar moment in her career.
Inside Gymnastics posted about her victory on their X handle with the caption, “Haleigh Bryant is the 2024 NCAA All-Around champion!! Her 39.7125 from the afternoon session holds up!” Notably, Bryant’s score of 39.7125 is the highest in a semifinal in school history. In pulling that off she dazzled in of the routines. Let us take a look.
Haleigh Bryant is the 2024 NCAA All-Around champion!! Her 39.7125 from the afternoon session holds up!
LSU’s first outing was the vault. In their 49.325 in that Haleigh Bryant contributed a 9.90. On uneven bars, Bryant anchored with a team-high 9.925 to push the Tigers to first at the halfway point with 49.475 points. After that, the beams also saw her class. She delivered a 9.95 in the routine, which is the best in a semifinal.
Floor exercises, on the other hand, saw her picking up 9.9375. With this, she contributed significantly to propelling LSU to the finals for the 10th time in school history. But despite Bryant’s all-around display, Jade Carey and Leanne Wong are navigating a tough challenge that many might find overwhelming.
Jade Carey and Leanne Wong stayed in college despite elite gymnasts leaving for the Olympics. Balancing the dual careers is no joke since the two genres have some fundamental differences. While collegiate gymnastics involves less complicated moves focusing on perfect 10s, elite gymnastics is all about executing difficult moves with mastery. This might also increase the challenge for their Olympic selection. The pressure is evident from Carey’s statements on previous occasions.
Initially uncertain about her decision, Jade Carey, who clinched gold on the floor at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, expressed feeling unprepared while competing as an elite last summer. Carey shared, “I kept stacking pressure on myself, feeling like I carried the weight of the world.” This impacted her enjoyment of gymnastics as she struggled with performance and confidence.
After taking a break, Jade Carey came back stronger. She reflected, “The Olympics remained my end goal, and perhaps last year was a necessary part of my journey.” In 2023, Carey became the 13th gymnast to achieve a gym slam, and in 2024, she continues to impress with perfect 10s in her recent floor exercise performances. Leanne Wong’s story is, however, a little different.
Apart from NCAA and elite gymnastics, Wong also juggles being a pre-med student, budding entrepreneur, and author. But she takes it in her stride as she had once stated, “I feel like I thrive with having a lot of things to do”. Hours before hosting LSU in February, Wong juggled academics and athletics, attending lectures, completing assignments, and taking an exam. Despite this, she excelled in the meet with a 39.875 in the all-around, including a perfect 10 on the floor. With such an ability to handle pressure, Leanne Wong is fiercely ambitious about both her careers.
She said in an ESPN interview, “The dream 2024 would be an NCAA national title and ultimately making the Paris Olympic team.” With that in mind, after the 2024 NCAA championships, she plans to return to elite gymnastics for the 2024 Core Hydration Classic in May. We can only say, more power to these passionate gymnasts!
Anchal Ahuja is a senior Olympic Sports Correspondent at EssentiallySports. With over 5 years of experience in journalism, Anchal decided to pursue her love for sports and cover various pathways of the Olympics. She actively covers swimming, track and field, and gymnastics.
