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Reigning Olympic all-around champion and Auburn sophomore Sunisa Lee introduced Tuesday that she would conclude her NCAA profession on the finish of the 2023 season to return to elite gymnastics.
In an Instagram submit, the 19-year-old stated she can be turning her focus to creating the U.S. workforce for the 2024 Olympic Video games in Paris.
“Right now I’m sharing a call that has weighed on me for a extremely very long time,” Lee stated in a video. “As an athlete that has competed on the highest degree, on the world’s largest stage, I have been lucky sufficient to expertise that once-in-a-lifetime feeling and the indescribable emotion when a gold medal is draped round your neck. However I do not need it to only be as soon as in a lifetime.”
Whereas a number of of her teammates from the nationwide workforce, together with Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, have been competing elite and collegiately concurrently, Lee has solely competed on the NCAA degree for the reason that Olympics. Carey (Oregon State) and Chiles (UCLA) helped lead the American contingent to a workforce gold medal on the world championships earlier this month, and each earned a number of particular person medals.
Till Tuesday’s announcement Lee had publicly stated she was uncertain if she would return to elite, however advised ESPN she all the time knew deep down what she needed to do.
“I’ve all the time had this tiny voice behind my thoughts telling me I wasn’t carried out with elite and needed to provide it one other shot,” Lee stated. “As you close to the top of an Olympic cycle and get nearer to the Video games themselves, coaching ramps up to some extent the place it’s fully a full-time job. Seven to eight hours a day, six to seven days per week. I do know that to have one of the best shot to characterize my nation once more, however I must dedicate that point and this determination permits me to try this.”
Whereas Lee stated watching Carey and Chiles succeed did not inspire her determination, she did acknowledge it made her “much more excited to step again into that degree of competitors.”
Lee grew to become one of many breakout stars for Workforce USA on the 2020 Tokyo Video games the place she was the shock all-around champion, following the withdrawal of teammate Simone Biles. She grew to become the sixth American girl in historical past to take residence the honour, and the primary girl of Asian descent. Lee additionally earned bronze on bars and helped lead the U.S. to silver within the workforce competitors.
Since then, she has been awarded Sports activities Illustrated’s 2021 Feminine Athlete of the Yr, the Girls’s Sports activities Basis’s 2022 Particular person Sportswoman of the Yr and been named one of many 100 most influential folks on the earth by Time Journal.
Following a post-Olympics stint on “Dancing with the Stars,” Lee arrived at Auburn as some of the heralded freshmen in program historical past. She grew to become the primary Olympic all-around champion to compete on the NCAA degree, and considered one of two particular person gold medalists to take action, alongside fellow freshman Carey. Throughout her debut season with the Tigers, Lee helped lead the workforce to the season-ending “4 on the Ground” and she or he gained the NCAA title on stability beam and was runner-up within the all-around competitors. She additionally claimed the SEC title on bars and recorded 5 excellent 10.0 scores on the yr. She completed the common season with the best scoring common within the nation on each bars and beam.
Coming into the 2023 season, Lee is anticipated to contend for a number of particular person NCAA titles, in addition to give Auburn maybe its greatest probability to say its first NCAA workforce title.
“I wish to be one of the best teammate I will be and proceed the superb legacy we had been capable of construct final season,” Lee stated about her targets for the yr.
The Tigers bought out Neville Area’s capability of 9,121 for all of their residence meets in 2021. Earlier this month, the varsity introduced all season tickets for 2023 had been bought and remaining single-meet solely tickets can be standing room solely.
Whereas the schedule has but to be launched in full, Auburn is anticipated to open its season on the highway Jan. 7 and can have its residence opener on Jan. 20 in opposition to SEC rival Arkansas.
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