via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 30: Sunisa Lee of the Auburn Tigers looks on ahead of session one of round two of the NCAA Los Angeles Gymnastics Regional at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on March 30, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
via Getty
LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA – MARCH 30: Sunisa Lee of the Auburn Tigers looks on ahead of session one of round two of the NCAA Los Angeles Gymnastics Regional at UCLA Pauley Pavilion on March 30, 2023 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
Suni Lee shot to fame after her spectacular all-around title victory at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. But the amount of mental strength it took to achieve, is nothing less than what she has shown in the last year. The 20-year-old has been rigged with consistent kidney problems. But for now, she is all set to return to action at the Winter Cup 2024.
The medications necessary for her condition would leave Lee’s hands swollen. The 20-year-old wasn’t able to put on her grips let alone train, and missed the majority of the 2023 gymnastics season. So much was the ‘depression’ that she began questioning her ability to perform at the Olympics.
Suni Lee questioned her ability when she was sick
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Speaking with media ahead of the Winter Cup 2024, the 2020 Olympic Champion Sunisa Lee expressed that she had started questioning her abilities during her kidney-related sickness last year. “I think that I kind of took a little bit of a step back when I got sick because I got nervous that I wasn’t gonna be good enough to make it to the Olympics”, the 20-year-old revealed.
Lee spent nearly a year nursing her ailment which also saw her end her NCAA career at Auburn University. She withdrew from the World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp as well, and later couldn’t take part in any of the international competitions. But she is finally back now, and back with a bang,
But as Lee pointed out in the clip, she is taking things one at a time instead of overwhelming herself with a lot of tasks. “I’m not trying to think about the Olympics and everything afterward because anything can happen,” she noted. But still, she has a goal.
“I think that I kind of took a little bit of a step back when I got sick because I got nervous that I wasn’t gonna be good enough to make it to the Olympics.”
Suni Lee reflects on training her new skill — the full-twisting laid-out Jaeger — and the journey to get to this point.… pic.twitter.com/tiBFLZ5VlW
— Gymnastics Now (@Gymnastics_Now) February 23, 2024
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Right now she looks all set to get a new element- a full-twisting jaeger on the bar -named after her. And doing it seems will be easier for her as Lee has nearly no competition at Saturday’s event.
Does Lee get an edge in the Winter Cup 2024?
Suni Lee and Gabby Douglas were the two big names set to clash in the Winter Cup 2024. However, the Tokyo Champion now has no competition in sight after Douglas withdrew from the competition. The 2012 all-around champion was also making a comeback, after 8 years, but it wasn’t to be as she tested positive for COVID-19.
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READ MORE: Gymnastics Winter Cup 2024: Yul Moldauer Dominates the Leaderboard at 1st After Thrilling Third Rotation
With Douglas out of the event, the only major competition Lee will face is from Trinity Thomas. But she last completed in 2019, and may not be a big threat to the former Auburn star. Lee may only be competing in the uneven bars and balance beam with her main aim being to secure a spot at the Baku World Cup, and of course, the Paris Olympics.
