Despite Being Frontrunner, Suni Lee’s Coach Flags Huge Risk for Her US Gymnastics Olympic Trials Win: “Been Out for Six Months”

After making her comeback in the Winter Cup this year, Sunisa ‘Suni’ Lee is slowly finding her feet on the ground. On June 2, she exemplified this by achieving the fourth position in the all-around event at the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships. Notably, this was Lee’s first all-around competition after making her comeback. The last time Suni Lee entered an all-round competition, she hardly knew what suffering from a kidney ailment would feel like. But since then she has dealt with kidney diseases but continues to push through while trying to fix things with all her might. Yet, her coach has a few things to add about Lee’s preparations. 

Jess Graba and his twin brother Jeff have received the most acknowledgment for bringing Suni Lee back to the gymnastics mat again. But only they know the hardships of the job. Recently, Jeff had talked about the same. 

Suni Lee has yet to make it to the sport entirely 

Because of her kidney ailments, Suni Lee remained absent throughout the larger part of 2023. Furthermore, her disease confined her to her home, far away from gymnastics practice. Suni once described this as “rotting in the bed”. This year, however, in January, she decided to make a comeback, after getting a nod from her doctors. On one side, Lee’s hiatus from the competitive sport took a toll on her mental and physical state. On the other, Jess Graba had no idea how to handle someone who had been out for so many months. “We’re not used to dealing with, ‘I’ve been out for six months and now, I’m back’,” the coach said in his conversation with Olympic. com. With that, the learned coach also expressed something about her mental state as well. Jess conceded, “She can pretty much do everything, but that doesn’t mean [her] mind knows it.” Before the US Olympic gymnastics trials, such hassles could hinder Suni’s prospects of seeing better things. But Jess was not in the mood to give up on her, despite all those ifs and buts. 

With his staffers from Auburn Gymnastics, he has regularly looked into anything that may become an impediment to the Olympian. A few positives have been achieved with such concerted effort. This has been visible in Suni Lee’s performance as well. The gymnast has found her mojo slowly but steadily after January this year. However, Jess has to make things positive regarding the gymnast’s mental state. 

At the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, Suni Lee was on the brink of facing mental vertigo, commonly known as ‘twisties’. Fortunately, Simone Biles came to her rescue, observing Suni’s incomplete schedule at her vault routine. Suffering from the same complication in the past, Simone knew about Suni’s needs. So, she thoroughly motivated her in the following uneven bars routine. However, the seven-time Olympic medalist might not have the chance to become Suni’s savior every time henceforth. This brings the need for a concerted effort to make things better for the former Auburn standout. Both her coach and Suni herself have, therefore, tried different things to ensure this.

Lee has tried her hand at journaling   

With the US Olympic gymnastics trials just hours away, things cannot be changed hastily. Jess Graba does not plan to do that. Rather, he wants to see his mentee in full health at the French capital. So, the best thing he can do is decrease the mental pressure from Suni Lee. Well, in carrying out such things, the coach has hardly any match. 

One example of this was seen at the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, where Jess never let Suni feel the heaviness of the routines. He set the schedules as per Suni’s strength and the difficulty level never proved to be overwhelming for a gymnast who was making her comeback. The veteran Kathy Johnson Clarke praised that part of the story. Surprisingly, in the Tokyo Olympics all-around final as well, he chipped in with continuous motivation and pep talks. The world knows the results in both cases. On top of this, Suni Lee is also trying a few tricks. 

In her recent interview with Elle. com, she said, “I like to journal a lot, I visualize a lot too, just because gymnastics is such a mental game.” Adding further clarity to her treatment, she revealed that she was relying on therapy as well. Overall, Suni Lee is hopeful of making it big in the trial. Do you think she will book her berth for the Paris Olympics? Let us know in the comments below.