Al Fong

A second-generation Chinese-American, born and raised in Seattle, Washington, Fong earned a gymnastics scholarship to Louisiana State University. 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. In 2007, he acknowledged "yelling or screaming" at his gymnasts in the 1980s, but told ESPN that he had since adopted a calmer style. 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. On December 22, 2025, Fong was suspended for five years; his wife, Armine Barutyan, was given a one-year suspension. ==Athlete deaths==

Julissa Gomez and the Yurchenko vault 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. 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". 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." 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. Christy Henrich 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. Henrich has said that Fong called her the "Pillsbury Dough Boy", which Fong has denied. Fong stopped coaching elite gymnastics for a time after Henrich's death. 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. ==Personal life==

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