Hartford, July 17 2026- The future of American gymnastics was on full display Friday night as the nation’s top HOPES athletes gathered at PeoplesBank Arena in Hartford, Connecticut, for the 2026 USA Gymnastics Hopes Championships. Serving as the national championship for the Hopes program, the competition showcased the country’s most promising gymnasts in the 11–12 and 13–14 age divisions.
Legacy Elites Agnes Song (13-14) finished 5th all around in her 2nd HOPES Championships with a 48.3 qualifying her to the 2026 HOPES National Team. Agnes started off the competition strong on floor finishing with a nice double pike and a 12.15. She took the bars in the 3rd rotation and finished 3rd, showcasing a nice piked jaeger, clean execution and a strong double layout to close on a 12.55.
The balance beam is where Cincinnati’s Marian Guerrrero stands out amongst the crowd winning the 13-14 beam championship with the only non vault 13.0 in the entire competition. Her 13.05 was tops giving her the 4th beam title of this competition season, winning L9 Regionals, Easterns and HOPES Classic on the event. Marian improved her all around score by 5 tenths 47.7 and finished tied for 9th.
In her second HOPES Championships in as many years, Claudia Lasek (11-12) finished in the top 10 with an all around score of 48.00 improving over 2.5 points and moving up 8 spots from HOPES Classic in the process. Claudia upgraded to a triple fight series on beam and almost stuck her double full for a 12.35 and a bronze medal.
Beyond the medals, the Hopes Championships proved to be a great close to our Region 5 trio’s season with many successes in the DEV portion of the season as well. It will be very exciting to see Claudia and Marian take on their first level 10 season in 2027, and Agnes looking to compete in her 3rd DEV National Championships. We will see these three on the elite stage very soon and that will be very exciting for our Region.
