Resilience has been a key component of Suni Lee’s route to the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. Over a year ago, Lee suffered two kidney-related issues, which made her face several debacles. She had to end her collegiate career abruptly. She also let go of the chance to compete at the Worlds in 2023. But Suni Lee never lost her grit. A few days back, she secured a major success when USAG approved her to participate in the all-around competition in the upcoming Xfinity Championships. While taking part in that after a long absence, Lee mindfully made some alterations to her approach.

The Xfinity Championships are vital since they will provide the tickets to the Olympic trials. But considering Suni Lee’s health, she and coach Jess Garba have decided to take it easy instead of aggressively focusing just on the win. In the event, focus on securing an Olympic trials berth will surely be there. But more than that, they will invest in gaining Lee’s confidence back in the all-around discipline by performing in front of a large audience.

“We have like five or six [routines] that we can do right now,” Graba explained in a conversation with Olympics.com. “Right now, we’re pretty much doing a second half for this meet. The main focus for this meet was to build some stamina under pressure in front of everybody. And, like, get up and get warmed up in two turns. So, we’re there,” Garba further added.

During the recent official practice, Lee looked shaky but resolute. She missed some tries at a straddled Jaeger release move. Suni Lee did, however, manage to do two whole routines toward the end of the practice, displaying glimmers of her previous form. Her cautious but tactical approach highlights her concentration on making small steps toward her goal of recovering her full fitness.

Suni Lee focuses on the “all-around”

Due to the struggle with kidney issues, Suni Lee had to make considerable adjustments to her training and competition schedules. Lee revealed the depth of her difficulties earlier this year, saying, “I could not bend my legs the slightest, I couldn’t squeeze my fingers, my face was swollen.” Nevertheless, she proved her ability and overcame the odds in the U.S. Classic.

Incredibly, Suni Lee used the apparatus on May 18th, performing floor, beam, and vault exercises. Notably, she outperformed Simone Biles on the beam, scoring a score of 14.600, to surpass her mark. Her effort on the beam was exceptional despite her health struggles.

Suni Lee frankly said, “I just really want to be able to do this for myself,” in response to her Classics performance. Having not intended to compete in the all-around, Lee is now welcoming the prospect of doing so. In an attempt to concentrate on the bars and beam, Suni Lee clarified, “I think at the beginning it was just like I was trying to focus on bars and beam.”

Looking forward to a new goal, she is focusing more on the “all-around”. Lee noted, “Whereas now I’m like hungrier to be able to be in the all-around. So that’s just been the main priority.” Thus, Suni Lee expresses her solid spirit by getting closer to her goal of competing in the all-around at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris through every event.