Gymnasts Kara Eaker, Leanne Wong look forward to college gymnastics after Olympic disappointment

After preparing more than a decade for a trip to the Olympic Games, teammates Kara Eaker and Leanne Wong experienced was heartbreak. 

Eaker, despite being fully vaccinated, was the first U.S. athlete to test positive for COVID-19 after arriving in Tokyo for the 2021 Olympic Games, and she spent the entire time in her hotel room. 

Wong, who never tested positive for COVID-19, underwent the same protocol as her Great American Gymnastics Express (GAGE) teammate, and missed out on everything she had dreamed about. 

But their familiar smiles returned Saturday morning as they joined Aleah Finnegan in a farewell party at GAGE, which is located in Missouri, where they posed for photos, signed autographs and visited with the youngsters who also have Olympic dreams. 

Finnegan, the younger sister of former GAGE standout Sarah Finnegan – a former NCAA champion and 2012 alternate on the U.S. Olympic team – will follow in her sister's footsteps and attend Louisiana State University.

Eaker will attend Utah and Wong is headed to Florida. 

"It's so nice to have this opportunity to say goodbye and visit with all the young gymnasts at GAGE," said Eaker. "Even though I was an alternate, it was such an honor to go to Tokyo with our team, and then, the COVID thing happened, and it was reported around the world – and I spent the entire time in my hotel room. 

"I talked with some of the girls via social media, and thank goodness for my family staying up to 2 a.m. back in Grain Valley (High School) so I could Facetime them, because it was all so disappointing. To be there, but to not be able to watch any of the events or activities was so difficult. It was not the trip I had dreamed about." 

While Eaker never showed any signs of COVID-19, Wong was kept away from her teammates simply because she was in close proximity to Eaker. Wong was tested twice a day and never tested positive, but she too spent her entire time in Tokyo in her hotel room. 

"All I wanted to do was get back home because it was terrible being in my hotel room the whole time," Wong said. "We tried to book a flight, but you needed a 14-day quarantine, and that was what I was basically in, so we decided I would just come home with everyone else." 

She paused for a moment, and added, "I know it was a huge accomplishment for Kara and me to be among the top 10 gymnasts in our country. And we hoped we might have a chance to compete in Tokyo, but we never dreamed we would have to stay in our hotel rooms the entire time." 

Both girls left the possibility of future international competition open, but said now, they are ready to be college students. 

"I am going to study engineering and now I am looking forward to being a part of Utah's gymnastics team and a college student," Eaker said. 

Added Wong: "I'm looking forward to going to Florida, being on the school's gymnastics team and studying hard. I want to go into pre-med, and that will be difficult, so we'll see what happens."