The second Thao Hoang's feet hit the mat beneath the still rings, he knew he'd done it, that he'd finally achieved the one goal that had eluded him throughout his entire Oklahoma gymnastics career.
It wouldn't be official for a couple minutes while the judges at the men's national championship calculated his score, but the senior just knew that he'd earned All-America status with the final rings routine of his OU career.
“It took me four years to stick this dismount in the final, so I was pretty happy about it,” he said.
Sure enough, when Hoang's final marks flashed on the boards at Christl Arena in West Point, N.