California men's gymnastics senior Darren Wong has been honored with the CalHOPE Courage Award for the month of March, in recognition of his triumphant return to competition after suffering three consecutive season-ending injuries.
 
The award, established in 2022 by the College Sports Communicators in association with the Associated Press, honors student-athletes at California colleges and universities who have overcome the stress, anxiety and mental trauma associated with personal hardships and adversity.
 
Wong's athletic career at Cal started off in promising fashion, with the 2018 Team Canada member setting modern program records on pommel horse and parallel bars while earning the Golden Bears' second-best all-around score in his first two seasons (2019-20). After the COVID-19 pandemic prematurely ended Cal's 2020 campaign, Wong tore his left Achilles tendon later that fall, causing him to miss the entire 2021 season. The next August, he tore his left ACL and was sidelined again in 2022; he was less than a week away from a return to competition in January 2023 when he tore his right Achilles, taking him out for yet another season.
 
As a result, Wong, a team captain, was forced to take on a different leadership role than the one he had envisioned. Not being able to lead by example – only through words – took a toll on his psyche.
 
"I experienced the most personal growth when I got injured. It was the biggest hardship of my life so far," Wong said. "Beforehand, the only thing I had confidence in was my gymnastics – I let that do most of my talking. Getting injured forced me to learn how to communicate with others. I had to become someone else."
 
Wong was finally able to compete once more in the 2024 season and has appeared in five different event lineups thus far. He owns four of the Bears' top-five high bar scores and has earned two event titles this season, also contributing to modern program records on rings and parallel bars; at the MPSF Championships on April 6, he was Cal's top scorer on high bar and was subsequently named to the All-MPSF team.
 
"Although Darren was unable to compete in the past three years, he has always been a key component to our team," associate head coach Bryan Del Castillo said. "He is a leader that teammates look to for advice – his gymnastics knowledge is exceptional and he is a constant source of support and encouragement.
 
"Darren is a highly technical athlete who manages to make even the most challenging skills look effortless. His impact this year has been tremendous. We're excited for Darren and grateful for his contributions to the program."
 
Wong is the fourth Golden Bear to receive the CalHOPE Courage Award, joining Anysa and Amaya Gray (women's soccer, October 2022) and Brett Johnson (football, December 2023). The other March 2024 honorees were Myron "MJ" Amey of San Jose State and Marne Sullivan of USC.
 
Wong and the Bears return to action April 19-20 at the NCAA Championships, held this year in Columbus, Ohio.
 
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