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Al Fong

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Al Fong (born c. 1953[1]) is an American gymnastics coach and owner of Great American Gymnastics Express, a gymnastics club in Blue Springs, Missouri.[2] Fong coached Julissa Gomez and Christy Henrich, Olympic hopefuls for the 1988 Seoul Olympics, who died after a competition accident and from anorexia, respectively. He has since coached two Olympic silver medalists: Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool.

In 2025, USA Gymnastics suspended Fong from coaching for five years after an investigation substantiated allegations of verbal, physical, and emotional abuse.

Career

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A second-generation Chinese-American, born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Fong earned a gymnastics scholarship to Louisiana State University.[1] In 1975, he graduated and became a gymnastics coach. In 1979, Fong started his own gym, the Great American Gymnastics Express (also known as GAGE Center), in Blue Springs, Missouri.[1]

In the 1980s, Fong coached Julissa Gomez and Christy Henrich. Gomez died after breaking her neck while performing a Yurchenko vault. Henrich died from complications of anorexia nervosa. After Henrich's death, Fong stopped coaching elite gymnastics and instead taught after-school programs for some time.

In the early 2000s, Fong coached Terin Humphrey and Courtney McCool at GAGE Center.[3][4] At a selection camp for the 2003 World Championships, Humphrey was selected as a second alternate. She was not allowed to practice with the U.S. team. Fong commented that the experience was very painful and said Humphrey should have been picked to compete.[5]

At the 2004 Athens Olympics, Humphrey and McCool helped the U.S. team win the team silver medal; Humphrey also took silver in individual uneven bars. Fong also told reporters that South Korean officials did not properly lodge a protest against the scoring of American gymnast Paul Hamm in the men's all-around competition.[6]

In 2007, he acknowledged "yelling or screaming" at his gymnasts in the 1980s, but told ESPN that he had since adopted a calmer style.[3]

In 2019, Fong coached Leanne Wong and Kara Eaker.[7]

In 2020, Fong became the subject of an investigation by U.S. Center for SafeSport into about 40 allegations of verbal, physical, and emotional abuse.[8] On December 22, 2025, Fong was suspended for five years; his wife, Armine Barutyan, was given a one-year suspension.[9][10][11]

Athlete deaths

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Julissa Gomez and the Yurchenko vault

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Julissa Gomez broke her neck while performing a Yurchenko vault in 1988 during the World Sports Fair in Japan, just before the 1988 Olympic trials.[3] She died as a result of her injuries in hospital.[12] After the accident, Fong said: "One thing is certain...Julissa certainly wouldn't want national team members to stop competing, or want me to quit being the coach that I am".[13] Some coaches supported banning the vault entirely after Gomez's accident, but Fong said that "a lot of the coaches are concerned about the hysteria going on about this vault[...]This could hamper the development of the sport."[14] He said that banning the vault would put the United States even further behind the Soviets and suggested that coaches should teach the vault to gymnasts when they are younger so they will have more time to develop it.[14] Fong had pressured Gomez to attempt the vault.[8]

Another one of Fong's gymnasts, Karen Tiereny, cracked the C-1 vertebra in her neck when she landed on her head performing the Yurchenko vault at the U.S. Olympic Festival in 1987. Tiereny decided she would not perform the vault anymore and has said that Fong continued to encourage her to perform it anyway. Fong insists that he did not pressure Tiereny to continue performing the Yurchenko.[15]

Christy Henrich

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He coached Christy Henrich, who missed the 1988 Seoul Olympics by .188. Henrich developed anorexia nervosa after a judge told her she was too heavy at 93 pounds to make the Olympic team. As a result of her illness, she was unable to compete after 1990. She retired from the sport in 1991 and died from multiple organ system failure in 1994 at age 22. Fong had stopped coaching Christy in 1989 and has said that he "kicked her out of the gym for her own good" adding that she had lost the strength needed to complete her routines safely.[16] Henrich has said that Fong called her the "Pillsbury Dough Boy", which Fong has denied.[17]

Fong stopped coaching elite gymnastics for a time after Henrich's death.[5] The best gymnasts left his gym and his reputation as a coach was damaged. He taught after-school programs for a time, until he met nine-year-old Terin Humphrey.[3]

Personal life

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Fong is married to former Soviet gymnast Armine Barutyan-Fong, who is a gymnastics coach at GAGE Center. Together they have a daughter, Athena.[18]

References

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  1. ^ a b c "Al Fong". www.wagymnasticshistory.com. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  2. ^ "Al Fong | Missouri | Gymnastics Simplified". Al Fong. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  3. ^ a b c d "ESPN The Magazine: Al Fong's iron fist". ESPN.com. 2007-09-19. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  4. ^ Posnanski, Joe (2004-08-17). "At age 16, McCool finds the cruelness of sport. (Knight Ridder Newspapers)". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  5. ^ a b DeArmond, Mike (2004-06-25). "Paring down with gymnastics trials.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  6. ^ DeArmond, Mike (2004-08-25). "Fong places blame for gymnastics flap squarely on Korean officials.(Knight Ridder Newspapers)". Knight Ridder/Tribune News Service. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  7. ^ Star, Vahe Gregorian | The Kansas City (8 April 2019). "Wong shines as USA Gymnastics star". The Guam Daily Post. Retrieved 2019-05-19.
  8. ^ a b Reid, Scott M. (2023-02-16). "Gymnastics coach Al Fong under investigation by U.S. Center for SafeSport". Orange County Register. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  9. ^ "Suspended & Restricted Persons". USA Gymnastics. Retrieved 2025-12-23.
  10. ^ Sandmaier, Christy (December 23, 2025). "GAGE Coaches Al Fong and Armine Buratyan-Fong Suspended By U.S. Center For SafeSport". Inside Gymnastics. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  11. ^ Duffy, Patricia (December 23, 2025). "GAGE coaches Al Fong and Armine Barutyan suspended by SafeSport". gymnastics-now.com. Retrieved January 17, 2026.
  12. ^ "Tales from the vaults" Rebecca Seal, Guardian Unlimited, 4 December 2005, url = http://www.espn.com/olympics/news/story?id=3027224
  13. ^ HUDSON, MARYANN (1988-06-25). "The Unthinkable Happens : Gymnast Gomez, 15, in Coma After Suffering Broken Neck During Warmups". Los Angeles Times. ISSN 0458-3035. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  14. ^ a b "Is New Vault Lifting Gymnasts Into Danger?". tribunedigital-chicagotribune. 27 June 1988. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  15. ^ Ryan, Joan (2013-04-03). Little Girls in Pretty Boxes. Knopf Doubleday Publishing Group. ISBN 978-0-307-82855-2.
  16. ^ Schouwen, Daryl Van (1994-07-28). "Gymnast Fought Losing Battle // Henrich Succumbs to Anorexia, Bulimia". Chicago Sun-Times. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  17. ^ Boodman, Sandra G. (1996-07-30). "The Medical Costs of Being Young, Female and the Best". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on 2018-02-04. Retrieved 2018-02-03.
  18. ^ "From Oppression to Training Olympians". The New York Times. Associated Press. 2007-08-26. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2019-05-19.