Asher Hong is a 19-year-old American gymnast on the US national team. In 2023, Asher was part of the US men’s gymnastics team that won the bronze medal at the World Championships. His last name Hong is pronounced that way in Taishanese, his family’s local language. Asher has also qualified to represent the US at the upcoming 2024 Paris Olympics.
Asher Hong Is Qualified For the 2024 Paris Olympics
The 19-year-old Asher Hong won a bronze medal at the 2023 World Gymnastics Championships and qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Last year, as a Stanford sophomore, Asher dedicated himself to winning his first US national championship. He made a strong start by scoring highly on vault with difficult skills.
Asher became the youngest US men’s national champion since 2012 at age 19. By performing well at Worlds, he helped secure a team spot for the United States at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
At the national championships in San Jose, Asher Hong captured his first US all-around title with a huge score of 170.930. The crowd went wild as the young phenom achieved this alongside Stanford teammates like Khoi Young and Colt Walker, who also finished near the top.
Asher, at 19, became the youngest US men’s all-around champion in 34 years. He, his Stanford teammates, and others like Fred Richard from Michigan, represent the present and future of elite men’s gymnastics for the US.
Asher Hong’s Birth, Brother, Parents, and Early Life
Asher Hong was born on March 23, 2004, in Plano, Texas, and grew up in Tomball. He stands at a height of 5 feet and 1 inch.
His parents are Rick and Karen Hong. He has two brothers. His brother Xander, born January 31, 2006, is also a gymnast. Xander has been on the junior national team five times and will graduate high school in 2024. His best events are high bar and pommel horse.
Asher also has another brother named Kiefer Hong who was born on March 27, 2008. Kiefer’s nickname is Chief Kief and his birthplace was Plano, TX. He got involved in gymnastics after his both older brothers competed in the sport.
Kiefer has participated in the 2019 Men’s Junior Olympic National Championships, 2021 Men’s Development Program National Championships, 2022 Men’s Development Program National Championships, 2023 Men’s Development Program National Championships, and 2024 Elite Team Cup, Louisville, Ky. – 1st-Team.
Asher trained at Cypress Academy of Gymnastics and competed for Stanford University’s team from 2023 to 2026. His coaches were Tom Meadows (head coach) and Igor Vernyi (assistant coach). His idol is a Japanese artistic gymnast Kohei Uchimura.
Asher Hong’s Early Begining of Gymnastic at the age of only 3
Asher first got interested in gymnastics at age 3 when he would climb on door frames like Spiderman. He officially began training in gymnastics in 2009 when he was 5 years old. His favorite hobbies are table tennis and billiards.
He’s realising that because of his height, it does make it easier for vault now as an adult. He says he is in kind of that perfect height now to where he has developed the muscles to get over the table. And because he’s smaller, he can get his whole body over the table faster, and the technique is easier per se.
In 2018, Asher competed at the RD761 Junior Team Cup, helping his team place third. Individually he finished sixth on floor exercise. At the 2018 Winter Cup, he won the junior division as well as gold on rings and parallel bars.
Also Read: Paris Olympics Team USA Gymnast Fred Richard Parents, Age, and Family
Asher was selected for the 2018 Pacific Rim Championships with fellow juniors Lazarus Barnhill and Justin Ah Chow, plus seniors like Sam Mikulak. The team placed first and Asher finished second all-around behind Lazarus. In the event finals, Asher won gold on the pommel horse, silver on the floor, and bronze on rings and parallel bars.
In 2019, at the U.S. Nationals, Asher placed third all-around in the 15-16 division. In early 2020 he helped his team finish second at the RD761 Invitational and individually won bronze on high bar.
Asher Hong World Cups and Upcoming Olympic Games
In 2021, Asher returned to competition, winning the junior all-around title and placing first on the floor, pommel horse rings, and parallel bars at the Winter Cup. He signed with Stanford to join their team for 2022-2023.
Turning senior in 2022, Asher placed third all-around at the Winter Cup. He was picked for the USA team for the DTB Pokal meet, helping the team win gold. Individually, he won gold on rings, and silver on the floor, and made other event finals.
At nationals, he was third all-around, winning vault and medaling on floor and rings. At the 2022 Worlds, Asher contributed on nearly every event to the USA’s fifth-place team finish and he placed sixth in the all-around final.
In 2023, Asher again represented the USA at DTB Pokal, winning pommel horse bronze. He won the all-around, rings, and vault titles at the Core Hydration Classic. At nationals, Asher won his first all-around national championship. He made the Worlds team, contributing scores on four events toward the USA men’s bronze medal, their first team medal since 2014. At Worlds, Asher also made the all-around and parallel bars finals. Now he is competing in the Paris Olympics 2024.
