A year ago, Helen Hu was nowhere near a gymnastics stage. Honestly, picture this: She was tucked away in the small beach town of Las Tunas, Ecuador, she was serving travelers at a hostel, catching waves when she could, living a completely different life alongside her sister.
Fast-forward to April 17, 2025. Helen stepped onto the beam with everything on the line. Missouri needed a 9.8875 to make history.
The arena fell silent. In that pressure-filled moment, she didn’t just meet the mark, she crushed it with a spectacular 9.9875. And just like that, she helped Missouri reach the finals behind Oklahoma (197.5500) and above Florida (197.2000) and Alabama (196.8250). The Tigers’ 197.3000 was enough to secure that historic second place and their first-ever trip to the NCAA Championship Final.
FOR THE FIRST TIME IN PROGRAM HISTORY, YOUR MISSOURI TIGERS ARE HEADING TO THE NCAA CHAMPIONSHIP FINAL #MIZ pic.twitter.com/gHMMXt9AJy
— Mizzou Gymnastics (@MizzouGym) April 17, 2025
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