Suni Lee is finishing up her two-year career at Auburn with an Olympic gold medal in her back pocket and plans to score another.
However, she's currently battling a non-gymnastics related health issue that has impaired her ability to train and she did not get to compete in her final home meet at Neville Arena with the War Eagles.
She shared her sentiments on social media and she was still honored in Senior Night for all she accomplished with the 2023 class.
Here's everything you need to know about why Lee isn't competing at the NCAA gymnastics championships, and her plans for the future:
What is Suni Lee's health issue?
Lee did not share specifics about what was going on, but posted on Twitter that the health issue is related to her kidneys and, for safety, she was not cleared by Auburn's medical team to complete her season.
She said she's working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage her diagnosis, and her all-around focus is on her health and recovery.
— Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) April 3, 2023
Lee last competed Feb. 24 against Georgia. She sat out Auburn's final two regular-season meets and the SEC Championships, along with the NCAA regional semifinals in Los Angeles, where the Tigers' season ended with a fourth-place finish.
Will Suni Lee go to 2024 Paris Olympics?
Lee plans to return to elite gymnastics after leaving Auburn, with sights set on a run to Paris in 2024 and bringing home yet another Olympic gold medal.
The 19-year-old has not competed at the elite and international level since the Tokyo Games, according to NBC Sports. She signaled her eventual return to the ranks when she participated in her first U.S. national team camp since 2020 in July 2022.
2021 OLYMPICS: Suni Lee takes her place along Team USA's all-time greats
She shared her decision in a video posted to her social media accounts on Nov. 15, 2022, saying she didn't want the Olympics to be a once-in-a-lifetime feat and that she's rolling her sleeves up to put in the work to make it to the city of lights next.
thank you to my @AuburnU family, you’ll forever have a special place in my heart. let’s make this season the best one yet. WAR EAGLE! pic.twitter.com/8ezp9WdM04
— Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) November 15, 2022
In a statement on CNN, Auburn head coach Jeff Graba said:
We are immensely fortunate and blessed to have had Suni be a part of our team these last two years. It was an honor to coach a world-class athlete and it was rewarding to see her not only achieve a lot of her collegiate goals, but to watch her become a great teammate as well.
We strive to put our student-athletes’ well-being ahead of athletic performance and in this case, we felt like we made the best decision for her health and future. We are so excited to cheer Suni on as she pursues another Olympic dream and can’t wait to see what else is in store for her.
Suni Lee gymnastics career bests, honors
- Vault: 9.925
- Bars: 10.000
- Beam: 10.000
- Floor: 9.975
- All-Around: 39.825
Lee had the most decorated year in Auburn gymnastics history as a freshman, and came into Auburn with a hefty load of medals around her neck already.
- Olympic gold medalist, all-around (USA)
- Olympic silver medalist, team competition (USA)
- Olympic bronze medalist, bars (USA)
- 2021 U.S. Champion, bars
- 2021 U.S. Runner-Up, all-around & beam
- 2019 World Champion, team competition (USA)
- 2019 World silver medalist, floor
- 2019 Wold bronze medalist, bars
- 2019 U.S. Champion, bars
- 2019 U.S. Runner-Up, all-around
- 2019 U.S. bronze medalist, floor
- NCAA Champion in beam (2022)
- SEC Champion in bars (2022)
- SEC Freshman of the Year and All-SEC (2022)
- Collected all eight of the NCAA and WGCA All-America honors
