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Meet the Aggie Photographer Behind USA Gymnastics

How former electrical engineering major John Cheng ’89 landed his dream position as the official photographer of USA Gymnastics.

By Samantha Atchley '17 '19

Photos provided by John Cheng '89

November 18, 2024

Picture this: With a ticket secured to Paris and a nationally anticipated comeback on the horizon for the 2024 Olympic games, Simone Biles was at the top of every photographer’s shot list at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship. As she navigated a sea of media teams surrounding the arena floor, hundreds of eyes—and cameras—were locked in on her. However, the only lens that the world’s most decorated gymnast stopped to smile at belonged to none other than John Cheng ’89.

A Texas native and former electrical engineering major at Texas A&M University, Cheng never anticipated his career would send him all over the world and include a front-row seat to three Olympic games and counting. However, now as the official photographer for USA Gymnastics, his journey from campus to the competition floor has proven to be an all-around success. 

Framing Victory

While choosing Texas A&M was mostly influenced by his Aggieland-bound friends, the first-generation Aggie quickly fell in love with the culture and traditions and enjoyed every second of his time on campus—especially the Fightin’ Texas Aggie football seasons.
 

A screen capture from the 6:37 minute mark in episode four of the Netflix documentary, Simone Biles Rising, shows John Cheng '89 wearing his Aggie Ring while photographing at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Envisioning himself fitting best in the corporate world, Cheng decided to study electrical engineering with plans to pursue a career in information technology (IT). Upon graduation in 1989, he made his start in the industry, working eight years for The Dow Chemical Company in Freeport, Texas, followed by a three-year stint as a technical director at Enron Corporation in Houston. When Enron filed for bankruptcy in 2002, the lifelong Texan had a life-changing decision to make.

“After bankruptcy, the company was picked up by UBS Investment Bank, and I was given the option to either find a new job or take a director position with them in London, Chicago or Connecticut,” Cheng said. “My wife and I had never lived outside of Texas, but we decided to give Connecticut a chance and ended up falling in love with the place.”

Though they originally assumed the move would be temporary, the Chengs and their two daughters, Allison and Brooke, found their new home and never looked back. In fact, after their daughter Allison found a local gymnastics gym, Cheng also discovered the beginning of his newfound calling.
 

“Like every gymnastics dad, you attend your kids’ competitions, and one day I decided to pick up the camera,” Cheng said. “I knew nothing about photography, but I thought I’d try to capture her events—and before I knew it, my new hobby took off.”

A New Focus                                                                    

Cheng’s talent and technical skills spoke for themselves through the shots he captured at Allison’s competitions. Before long, other parents were requesting photos of their young athletes, and the local gym recruited him for his first event coverage of a state competition.
 

Moments before USA clenched the team gold medal, Cheng told Simone Biles and the coaches to look for him on the opposite side of the podium to capture this iconic team celebration photo.

“In the early 2000s, digital cameras were fairly new, and there weren’t many people taking pictures at these competitions to sell to parents,” Cheng said. “I found a niche, and then it started to snowball—pretty soon I was busy with photography jobs every weekend.”

From this spark in notoriety, the Chengs’ photography business, Team Photo, was born. With the help of his wife, Selma, Cheng’s operation continued to grow in success and popularity, leading the couple to question whether this new profession had potential to become their full-time focus.

“I went from being an IT professional with a little knowledge about cameras to a professional photographer who knew a little about IT,” Cheng said. “So, when the opportunity came to pursue Team Photo full time, we never looked back—that was 15 years ago, and thankfully, we’re still here.”

Cheng’s next jump—from local meets to the national stage—can be chalked up to a combination of reputation, connection and simply being in the right place at the right time.

“At a summer camp that Team Photo covered, I just happened to meet the owner of the company supplying all the gymnastics equipment,” Cheng said. “I mentioned that I would love to shoot a national competition one day, and being a sponsor with USA Gymnastics, he offered to get me a credential into that year’s event, which secured my first opportunity shooting on the big stage.”
 

Behind the Lens with John Cheng ’89

Things you may not know about the role of an Olympic photographer

  • To obtain his credential for media access at the Olympic games, Cheng typically applies 18 months in advance and receives it two-to-three months before opening ceremonies.
     
  • Cheng doesn’t just cover the competition at the Olympic games—his role requires documenting everything the gymnasts do off the mat as well, from photographing their interviews on the NBC set to covering special appearances from guests like the famous American retired gymnast, Mary Lou Retton.
     
  • To get the medal-worthy shots, Cheng studies the gymnasts’ routines ahead of competition to strategize the optimal locations he’ll need to shoot from.
     
  • Shooting the Olympics is not always glamorous. Cheng typically works 15-hour days while USA gymnasts are in competition.
     
  • Accommodations are different for every Olympic games. In London, Cheng was housed in a dormitory, in Rio he stayed in a hotel, and in Paris he stayed in a quiet neighborhood outside of the city.

Following nationals, Cheng submitted his photos to USA Gymnastics and shared the value he could add to the team. His timing coincidentally overlapped with the retirement of the organization’s longtime photographer, and USA Gymnastics offered him the job.

But it wasn’t just his talent behind the lens that landed Cheng his dream role. His Aggie education and years of experience in the IT industry helped him incorporate advanced technical processes that streamlined photo organization and provided filing convenience for photo editors.

“Back then, photographers would typically give you a CD with 2,000 to 3,000 photos on it—no descriptions, classification or separation by gymnast name,” Cheng explained. “With my IT background, I put processes in place that automatically organized my shots into folders categorized by each gymnast, which saved a lot of time and work for USA Gymnastics’ editors.”

Capturing the Moment

Though he’s credited for snapping some of the most iconic photos of USA Gymnastics at the last three Olympic games in Rio, Tokyo and Paris, to Cheng, it doesn’t matter if he’s photographing a beginner or an elite Olympian—the attention he gives is all the same.

“These young athletes work so hard to compete, and I want to make sure I give them my best. Whether it’s a level-two routine or a Biles routine, I give them all the same treatment.”

Another standout aspect of his gymnastics photography has been his unique style. In a sport that has traditionally portrayed unbroken poise and perfection, Cheng is known for capturing the raw moments that unveil personality and playfulness.

“I love to capture the action, but another big part of gymnastics is the emotion,” Cheng said. “I like to show the fun side of the sport where the gymnasts are smiling and interacting with each other or celebrating when they just hit a great routine. I always tell my photographers to keep shooting when the music stops, because it’s the moments after the performance where the majority of those great shots happen.”

Despite all the behind-the-scenes access to star-studded Olympic games, Cheng said the most rewarding part of his career thus far has come from a partnership with General Mills for a cereal box design. However, his beaming pride didn’t come from the box his own photo was printed on; rather, it was the one his daughter’s photo was chosen for.
 

Cheng's daughter, Allison, visiting a grocery store to see both her and her father's photos displayed on the cover of two limited-edition Simone Biles Wheaties boxes.

“My daughter Allison is a great photographer and former gymnast, so she often comes with me to cover events,” Cheng explained. “When General Mills reached out for a project with Simone Biles to release 22 cereal boxes, it was exciting to have my photo chosen for one—but the best part was when they came back and asked for one of Allison’s shots for a second box. To see someone you’ve been working with and mentoring reach the same platform as you is incredible.”

From his gymnastics dad days of counting on shutter speed to catch his daughter’s nail-biting skill on camera—because he was simply too nervous to watch—to capturing some of the nation’s most famous moments in Olympic history, Cheng’s career has certainly come full circle (and stuck the landing).

“I think it's the dream of every gymnastics photographer to have their photos published or used by USA Gymnastics on the national or international scene,” Cheng admitted. “I don’t think my shots are perfect—I’m my own worst critic—but as a photographer, my goal is just to always show these gymnasts in the best light.”
 

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