Stanford’s Asher Hong competes on pommel horse during the 2023 Winter Cup. (© Amy Sanderson)
Gymnastics Now recently caught up with Stanford freshman and elite standout Asher Hong. The fashionable freshman talked about his iconic travel suits, the difference between NCAA and club, and breaking into Stanford’s next level lineups.
“It’s going well, it’s going well, super fast paced. Like a lot faster than I thought. I mean, in club last year, I had like two weeks between each competition. Now, it’s like, boom, boom, boom,” Hong said at the 2023 Winter Cup. “It’s very different.”
At just 18 years old, Hong previously trained at Cypress Academy in Texas. He’s a key member of the U.S. men’s senior national team, was part of the 2022 world team, and now, he is one of Stanford’s rising stars. This weekend, he’ll compete at his first NCAA national championships, where he’s expected to contend for multiple individual titles in addition to competing with the defending champions.
Hong has already received several accolades during his first season at Stanford, including the College Gymnastics Association’s Gymnast and Rookie of the Week honors and multiple individual titles at regular season meets while proving pivotal to the Cardinal’s overall performance. Even though the gymnast is already putting his mark on the program, Hong said the transition from club gymnastics to NCAA has been an interesting one.
“I have to make lineup spots and whatnot,” Hong explained. “That was a little bit different to adjust to, but I think I’m managing well and I really enjoyed the NCAA season.”
Making lineup is something Hong didn’t have to worry about in club gymnastics, where the sport is more individually focused, versus in NCAA where him and his teammate are fighting for lineup spots every week.
“It just usually comes down to the guys who hit. We have a lot of good guys that we can put up in the lineup spots, and the guys who do the best on the Wednesday intersquad usually make it,” Hong continued. “You just got to hit your stuff.”
Hong’s experience at the world championships in the fall and elite, in general, made the transition to college easier, even if he has more competition. Unlike women’s college scoring, which is still out of 10, men’s college scoring aligns with the elite open-ended Code of Points, which combines a separate difficulty score and an execution score that is out of 10.
“I think the good thing was that I came into college really comfortable with most of my routines. I didn’t have to change too much, and they were still difficult enough to make lineup spots and compete on an elite level. So that was a really good advantage going into college.”
Besides making waves with his skills – like the supremely difficult Ri Se Gwang that Hong debuted, becoming the first gymnast to ever compete it in college – Hong has made waves with a somewhat accidental fashion trend. Already known for his sharp dressing before college, Hong took a freshman tradition to the next level.
“The freshmen, their first travel meet, you’re supposed to wear a suit. It’s like a standard thing, like make sure you’re behaving on the trip, essentially, in the suit and whatnot. And then after, if you behave, then you don’t have to wear the suit anymore.”
But for Hong, the suit stuck. He now wears a suit every time the team travels.
“I bought a few suits, and I’m like, you know what, might as well. I’m not gonna be able to wear these anywhere else. Might as well wear them during travel. So I have fun with it. I show up to every comp with a suit on.”
While the rookie hasn’t convinced any of his teammates to join the suit trend, Hong said it helps him maintain the business trip mentality when the team is on the road.
“I feel the most powerful when I wear my suit.”
Hong hopes he’ll be able to convince his teammates to suit for nationals, where the team will be going for its fourth-straight team title.
