Asher Hong’s Home Advantage – NCAA to Antwerp

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Asher Hong’s Home Advantage

The newly crowned 2023 U.S. National All-Around Champion looks ahead to Antwerp

Showtime!

With the crowd in the SAP Center going crazy and a raucous (by gymnastics standards anyway) Stanford fan section playing for keeps, phenom Asher Hong (170.930) stepped up to the plate in San Jose and did what he came to do – capture his first U.S. National All-Around title and do it side by side with his teammates, becoming the youngest U.S. Men’s All-Around Champion in 34 years along the way. 

Hong, along with Stanford teammates Khoi Young (169.455) and Colt Walker (168.811) who placed second and fourth respectively, and Michigan’s Fred Richard (169.311) who took third, are both the present and the future of men’s gymnastics in the United States. And with a few veterans mixed in, could prove exactly the right formula for a medal at the upcoming World Championships in Belgium and looking ahead to Paris in 2024. 

For Hong, whose Ri Se Gwang on vault is on par with the world’s best and always a pivotal moment for him in any competition, the win in San Jose could be summed up in his approach to the journey he’s taken all season as a freshman for the Cardinal: team first. 

“Every time I do it, it’s for the team,” Hong said. “To get them pumped up – and I cheer very loud whenever they’re going before their routines, that’s one of my favorite parts of the [competition] – just because that team spirit really pushes you for that energy that you need for the competition. So I love doing that.” 

2020 Olympian Yul Moldauer, who held the lead on Day 2 after the third rotation, finished fifth overall, earning his spot on his fifth World Championships team. Closing out the competition strong on pommel horse after a tough go on high bar and floor, Moldauer seemingly solidified his spot to Belgium, with longtime national team teammate Donnell Whittenburg calling it a “Big time play.” Moldauer also took the title on parallel bars. 

But overall, the competition belonged to Hong, Young, Walker and the Cardinal, who further moved the needle for the next generation and no doubt multiplied the pressure to carry the torch into Paris. They worked as a unit from start to finish, just as they do every single day in the gym and every single weekend during the NCAA season. And it showed in San Jose in every way. 

“I get excited for the guys but honestly the majority of my work is done in training,” Stanford head coach Thom Glielmi said. “I may have to remind an athlete to have fun and compete; to not to get ahead of themselves but I really enjoy just the competition part. You can see who the competitors really are with how they handle difficulties and I think my guys embraced that concept. I was really proud of how they supported each other. I think they all appreciate their teammates and take more joy from the team experience than they do any individual award.”

In the big picture for the U.S. men, two-time U.S. National All-Around Champion and 2022 World high bar gold medalist Brody Malone is still out with an injury sustained on his high bar dismount in event finals at the 2023 DTB Pokal Team Challenge. In Liverpool last year, Malone edged out 2020 Olympic All-Around Champion Hashimoto Daiki of Japan to take the top spot on the event. His gold was the first World Championship on the high bar by an American men’s gymnast in 43 years.

Malone’s absence leaves the door wide open for Team USA to step up not only in difficulty, improved execution and consistency, but in leadership. And while the U.S. men’s program will certainly be looking to a healthy Malone to help lead the effort in Paris, the team heading to Worlds which includes Hong, who is also the 2023 NCAA vault champion; Richard, the 19-year-old NCAA All-Around, high bar and parallel bars champion; Young, a three-time NCAA All-American at Stanford; Paul Juda, the 2022 NCAA All-Around champion from Michigan; and Moldauer, who owns 10 NCAA titles while competing for Oklahoma in addition three U.S. titles, one World Championships bronze (floor in 2017), and 11 Pan American Championships medals – certainly has the potential to medal. They just need to treat it like a home game and walk into Worlds with confidence – knowing they’ll medal. Not hoping. 

In Liverpool, the men qualified third into the Team Final but major errors on pommel horse, high bar and floor resulted in an all-too-familiar fifth place. They finished fifth at the Tokyo Olympics, and are in their longest team medal drought since missing the podium at every Olympics and Worlds between 1985 and 2000. Headed into Antwerp, this team is once again hungry, and very ready to prove they can not only hang with the top contenders but take home medals and make a name for themselves. 

With a mix of new talent and veteran experience, could this be their year to break onto the podium? We think they can do it and can’t wait to see the energy they bring into the arena. And what does Thom Glielmi think?

“It’s a good mix of experience and youth – hard to believe 19-year-old Asher is one of the more experienced guys. I think they are a tremendous team when you look at our three-up  three-count scenarios. Yul’s experience and willingness to share his knowledge bodes well for the team to do what they are capable of. Add to that the energy and excitement of younger guys and it’s going to be fun,” said Glielmi.

For Hong, who placed sixth in the All-Around in Liverpool, his plan is to carry the NCAA atmosphere into Antwerp.

“It started with NCAA season and got me in that team mindset for sure. NCAA is all about team, and you kind of not disregard, but you kind of let go of your individual ego a bit, and you set everything for the team,” Hong said of his mentality in San Jose. “That’s something I learned throughout the NCAA season. To have guys here as well, 11 of us compared to last year, where I was just kind of alone during Championships, really helped. Thom always says that last two events, that’s where the real gymnasts show up. When we’re at NCAAs or we’re competing here at Championships or Classics, that’s the mentality we have. And we’re going to try and keep it for Worlds this year.”

Photo by Ricardo Bufolin for Inside Gymnastics 

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