For an entire year, she was missing from the Missouri Tigers’ coven, yet when Helen Hu came back for her senior year, she scored a perfect 10 against Oklahoma Sooner. Hu’s riveting balance beam performance at the SEC meet proved her excellent skills and doggedness. 

On 17 January, the Missouri Tigers locked their horns against the Oklahoma Sooner at the Sooners’ home ground, Lloyd Noble Center. There, the Tigers, after giving a watertight competition, fell against the Sooner. The score margin was too narrow–just 1.025. But Helen Hu’s astonishing performance became the talk of the town. So, the intriguing question surrounding every gymnast enthusiast is, who is Helen Hu? Let’s try to find the answer.

Who is the perfect scorer Helen Hu for the Missouri Tigers

Hailing from Chicago, Helen Hu first dipped her toes in gymnastics when she was just a 5-year-old. Following in her elder siblings’ gymnastics footsteps, she didn’t like it at first. But a year later, it became interesting to her. But nothing is widely known about her siblings’ gymnastics journey. Yet, Elaine and Yaodi, the siblings, indeed put their sister, Helen, in the right direction. 

Starting her gymnastics endeavor under former champion of Ukraine’s artistic gymnastics, Irian Kudina’s pre-team for a few months; Helen Hu, at just 14, qualified for the Chicago Style Meet. Watching the younger athletes at the IK gym, Helen, at 12, realized that she wanted to go for the elite. Later, she focused on being the best at her skills rather than choosing a particular goal for her gymnastics career. 

Her fuel to be better is her fellow gymnasts, whose unique styles and skills push Helen to be more competitive. It is fun for the 5’5” gymnast as it feeds her competitiveness. Helen Hu joined the University of Missouri in 2020. From her first year with the Missouri Tigers, the math enthusiast Helen placed herself on the SEC Academic Honor Roll till 2023. In addition to her academic prowess, she became one of the stellar performers for the Tigers in her NCAA gymnastic run. 

Reaching her career high with an astonishing bar performance of 9.900 in the NCAA regional final in 2022, then a Redshirt sophomore, Helen Hu, grabbed the second position on the beam. And again, in 2023, Helen performed another super beam performance with a 9.975 score during the home squad meet. But as the 2023 season ended, Helen Hu stepped from her gymnastics domain–for a while.

After giving fans dazzling performances during her Missouri days, Helen Hu backpacked and went on another journey. She and her sister traveled to Japan, then to Finland and Ecuador. During this year-long journey, she again dabbled in athletics. This time in Ecuador. There, she learned to surf, but with a hiccup. “I went in thinking I am an athlete, I can do this,” Helen recalled. But she couldn’t hold her grip on the sport for four weeks. “…I was just faceplanting,” she admitted. After that exciting journey with yoga and surfing, Helen came back to the US. Helen still has eligibility for her collegiate career, and after returning from the trip, it was put forward again in front of her.

Helen returned and scored a perfect 10 for the Mizzou

Not entirely shaking off her gymnastics interest, Helen visited Columbia. There Helen visited a former teammate’s wedding. She then went to see her coach, Shannon Welker, at the Tiger Performance Complex. Being excited by the apparatus, she hopped up on the beam. That’s it. Her beam routine was so incredible at the TPC that Welker invited Helen to join the Tiger to complete her schooling. To Helen, it seemed a joke at first. Then, she thought her participation could help the Tigers with her skills on the beam. This homecoming made waves among the fans. 

“I think beam is where I can help the team the most,” Helen Hu said, as quoted by komu.com. On Oct 7, the final official announcement came of her joining the Tigers’ pack for the 2025 season. The Mizzou gymnast Helen Hu and her incredible teammates didn’t let the opponent win easily. The No. 10 Mizzou scored 196.750. But the No. 1 Sooners, with a 197.775 score, beat them. It was a thrilling encounter. After this electrifying episode, Helen and the team will return to their conference season home opening match against Kentucky. And now, as Helen Hu snagged the perfect 10 score, this season is becoming more interesting to watch.