Cooper Kim Came Out To His Stanford Team And Walked Off The NCAA With Two Gold Medals
The Stanford gymnast took the NCAA floor exercise crown and helped his team to gold this April. Days later, he sat down with Outsports to talk publicly about being a gay athlete for the first time.
It’s been a big April for Cooper Kim. The Stanford men’s gymnast won the NCAA individual title on floor exercise, helped his team take home the national championship, and then opened up about coming out to his coaches before the 2025–26 season even started as reported by Outsports.
Two titles and three All-American finishes
Kim closed his championship weekend with All-American honours in three events. He topped the country on floor with a score of 14.466, finished top three on high bar, and landed in the top eight on vault. His No. 1 floor finish helped Stanford win the team title, the programme’s sixth in seven seasons. Outsports calls that run a dynasty rivalling Oklahoma’s all-time men’s gymnastics legacy.
The conversation that changed his season
Kim came into this year with a plan he hadn’t told anyone outside his closest circle. He sat down with his coaches and told them he wanted to “tap into my authentic self and show off my true gymnastics and my true personality in the gym,” as he put it to Outsports. It was the first time he’d spoken openly with them about being a gay athlete at the top level of US college sport.
The response settled him in. “They were so supportive of it, and I could tell throughout the season they just let me be me in the gym. It helped me so much,” Kim said. “Not only did it help me in the gym athletically, but also as a person outside the gym. I felt so free. It helped me to excel and tap into the gymnastics that felt right to me”.
The freedom was part of why he picked Stanford in the first place. “That was the biggest thing I was looking for when I was being recruited,” Kim said. “Do I see myself fully expressing myself here?
He’s not the only gay gymnast on the floor
Kim joins a small but rising group of out men’s gymnasts taking NCAA hardware in 2026. We covered fellow out All-Americans Sam Phillips and Charlie Larson earlier this month after both took top-four finishes at the same championships, with one on the bronze medal team.
Out Gymnasts Sam Phillips And Charlie Larson both earned All-American Honours At NCAA Finals https://t.co/1CxghDLBdm
— DNA (@DNAmagazine) April 23, 2026
Eyes on Los Angeles
Kim grew up in Michigan, has his sights set on medical school, and is aiming for a spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics. For now though, he’s enjoying the version of himself he was hiding for too long. “All my support staff supports me for me being me,” he said.
