Cooper Kim has loved gymnastics since he was 18 months old, when he began taking Mommy and Me classes with his mother, Heather, a former Michigan gymnast. Kim began competing at 5 and progressed from club gymnastics to competing in the USA Gymnastics developmental program from ages 11 to 18.
"I just fell in love with it right away," he said. "I think the community of gymnastics is really beautiful and allowed me to begin my journey of fully accepting myself and being able to fully express myself in and outside the gym."
A young Cooper Kim poses with his medals after a meet. (Photo courtesy of Cooper Kim)
After graduating high school and competing as a member of the USA Junior National Team, Kim brought that foundation to Stanford. He made his collegiate debut in 2025, appearing in eight meets as a freshman while earning first-team Collegiate Gymnastics Association All-America Scholar-Athlete recognition and a pair of Mountain Pacific Sports Federation Freshman of the Week honors.
As a sophomore in 2026, Kim helped lead Stanford to the National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championship while delivering a defining performance of his own — winning the NCAA national title in the floor exercise. He also earned multiple All-America honors and emerged as one of the nation's most expressive competitors.
But even as his gymnastics reached new heights within a championship-caliber program, Kim felt there was still another level he had yet to unlock — one that had less to do with difficulty or execution and everything to do with being fully himself. And once he found it, it would transform not only the way he competed, but the way he saw himself as a gay man.
Kim can pinpoint when he began giving himself permission to live more openly. In his own words:
"Thinking back on it, I was nearing the end of my freshman season, and I started seeing a sports psychologist while going to therapy every week. I think that's when I was able to be honest with myself and really realize that I was only harming myself by not being what I truly wanted to be.
Every year at the beginning of preseason, our coaches do team meetings with us, and I thought that would be a really good opportunity to bring up my sexuality and my goal of truly embracing myself, in a natural way.
I was scared a little going into that meeting because it was uncomfortable for me to be that honest with them and myself, but I'm really glad I brought it up to them. I think being so transparent with them allowed them to be so much more accepting.
One really important person that played a significant part in my life this past season was actually my athletic trainer. Every week, or twice a week, I would get treatment with her to work on anything I needed. I could just talk about whatever I wanted, and she was always so open, too. She gave really good advice, too.
Accepting and embracing myself extended beyond my sexuality and was found in the small things that I realized that I was selling out on. The dumb things that I was holding myself back on, I get mad at myself, thinking, "Why was I so worried about that?" The first step was just being honest with myself and realizing I'm only going to grow from accepting and loving my full self."
This mindset prompted him to see gymnastics through a new lens, rethinking artistry, expression and what the sport should truly represent.
" I recently posted a video on Instagram about how there's been a decline in artistry in the sport of men's gymnastics, and for me this isn't related to sexuality in any way. But I think that is the issue in the sport. People are trying to tie artistry to being gay, and I think that they're very separate things. Artistry just makes the sport more appealing. It makes it so much more beautiful to watch.
And I, in my video, just talked about how there's this rise in a nonchalant approach to the sport. People are trying to look cool by not caring, and I think that makes this sport so monotonous and boring to watch. I've been told my gymnastics is pretty artistic, and I think my club coach instilled that in me.
That's the approach that I'm taking as a role model: Being artistic in the sport means not considering other people's opinions. I think that can tie into sexuality, but in general, I think people need to stop caring so much about what other people are thinking about them, them in their sport, and just show off their gymnastics. You should try to make it look as beautiful as possible, because I think that's what this sport is about and is what makes it so special.
When we tie ourselves to people's opinions about us and define who we are as a person based off of what other people think about us, it's a very harming comparison to make. It makes you scared and holds you back from really seeing what you bring into the world.
And that's so sad, to think that I was holding myself back so many years."
Eventually, the shift in mindset changed not just how he approached gymnastics but the way he understood himself. The confidence he had spent so long building was no longer solely internal but beginning to surface in visible and meaningful ways. An unexpected opportunity would soon test just how ready he was to share his most authentic self with the world.
"When Outsports reached out to me to write an article on me a few months ago, I was a little hesitant. I wasn't sure whether I wanted to go through with it, because at that point, I wasn't necessarily publicly out. People knew, but I just never really talked about it on social media. That was a little scary because I knew it would spread, but I also knew that if I didn't take advantage of the opportunity, I would've regretted having that sort of openness. I've always in the back of my mind wanted that; I just didn't know how. I'm really glad I did the interview and the article published. Then I got a bunch of messages saying 'you are truly helping so many people' and 'I don't think you realize how many people you're helping." That really struck me.
Also, I wasn't out to my parents before the article. In the back of my mind, I always knew they would be supportive of me and wouldn't care, but I kept convincing myself that something would go wrong. Right when they found the article, my mom called me and my heart sank for a second, but she was just saying how she was upset that she didn't make it comfortable enough for me to tell her. That was really special to hear from her, and then my dad called and was like, nothing changes. You're still my son, you're still doing amazing things, and just keep doing what you're doing. My sister, Karly, said the same thing — she loves me and nothing changes. I know all stories aren't like that, unfortunately, so knowing that I had that support made it a lot easier."
With the reassurance and support of his family, the uncertainty that once held him back faded away, giving way to a momentum that allowed him to move forward. With a clearer sense of self, he turned his focus toward navigating the cadence of being a balanced student-athlete.
"I'm studying bioengineering on the premed track, and I've really utilized the resources here. Stanford has so many resources, it's abundant.
Using those resources has been really helpful, but it's not healthy to constantly be on that grind. So I think taking a break, getting off campus whenever I can, and just giving myself that chance to relax has been good. Because I realized that if I constantly push, I'm going to burn out eventually. It's a balancing act.
I am absolutely happy with my choosing Stanford.
On my visits here, I just remember one night the whole team was just around the bonfire, and it was a really defining moment for me — realizing I genuinely see myself here. We were vibing, and it clicked immediately. It was so easy to talk to everyone and just so natural.
Cooper Kim celebrates with his Stanford teammates after winning the National Collegiate Men's Gymnastics Championship. (Photo by Jimmy Naprstek / NCAA Photos)
That made me realize 'this is a no-brainer,' and two years later, I am still super happy with my decision. I don't see myself anywhere else, honestly. There are so many good people here and on my team. Everyone here is a good person — willing to listen to you and understand you, even if they come from a different background. That's the beauty of this school: People just listen. I love Stanford. Love it."
As Kim looks ahead, his trajectory points toward the possibility of competing at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
"I'm just trying to be present in this journey and really take in everything," he said. "It's exciting, exciting to see where it'll go, because no matter what I'm going to be learning on this journey and will come out a more knowledgeable person. So I don't think there's anything to lose if I try."
For all the titles, accolades and expectations that may come now, Kim remains grounded in the journey that got him here. His sophomore season was bigger than his championship score; it was about the freedom behind it.
Now, with nothing left to hold himself back, Kim can step onto the mat with something no score can measure: the freedom to fly.
