Suni Lee Makes Strong Case For Olympic Spot At U.S. Championships

After spectacular efforts on two of her four events, the 2021 Olympic All-Around Champion finds herself squarely in contention for an Olympic bid. The 3-time Olympic medalist entered Dickies’ Arena with questions surrounding her health and Olympic readiness. With the meet’s close, she leaves Texas with her name firmly in the U.S. Olympic conversation.

For Sunisa ‘Suni’ Lee, day two of the U.S. Gymnastics Championships began with disaster. After a stutter-step on her run, Lee incurred a fall to score just a 12.150 on vault, putting her almost two points behind her day one pace. Lee would later tell the media that she was “thinking that [the meet] was over” after the mishap. However, the veteran proved her tenacity and pushed through to score 42.750 in her remaining events, a full point improvement from day one.

With kidney issues hindering her training on the high-octane ‘power events,’ Lee’s best shot at punching her ticket comes on bars and beam. Traditionally her strongest events, Lee was a top finisher on both.

On bars, she managed to finish a narrow fourth place despite showing a significantly downgraded routine. At higher difficulty, Suni is a contender for Olympic gold on uneven bars. At lower difficulty (here), she is a world-class contributor for Team USA. The Minnesota native holds Olympic and World medals on the event, and is training a never-before-seen skill that, if competed successfully, would etch her name in gymnastics record-books.

On beam, she earned the silver medal after a spectacular second-day effort. Lee posted the highest beam score of the weekend (14.900) in one of Sunday night’s highlights, complete with a stuck dismount. Landing with massive smile, Lee’s effort bested even Simone Biles, the defending World Beam Champion. Lee’s score would have won the gold medal at the previous World Championships. For Suni, the event looked more than Olympic ready, it looked Olympic medal-worthy.

Moving to floor, one of the slower events to regain strength, Suni was reliable and elegant while competing with downgraded difficulty. Even with her health as a hinderance, her elite ability and renowned elegance had not waned.

Entering the U.S. Championships, Lee floated the goal of finishing in the top five. After her impressive bars and beam efforts and consistency on floor, she managed to finish fourth, landing just .150 short of the podium. Even when weakened, she is a world class gymnast.

At the meet’s closure, Lee was named to the U.S. National Team and officially invited to the Olympic Trials later this month. The trials, hosted in her hometown of Minneapolis, MN, represent the next hurdle in her path. However, with three weeks until competition, the potential for further improvements (and increased difficulty) exists. Regardless of her potential for upgraded routines, if Suni can hit bars and beam on the two days of trials, the selection committee will have trouble leaving her off the 2024 Olympic Team.

In her comeback’s infancy, Lee told Olympics.com that she was “trying to make smaller goals instead of just thinking about the Olympics right away.” After months of severe health problems and recent competitive struggles, Suni Lee is on track to make her second Olympic team.