ATLANTA — In the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Suni Lee shocked the world and won the all-around gold. Now we are six months removed from winning gold and so much has happened. She has been on Dancing with the Stars, numerous talk shows and now she’s a collegiate athlete at Auburn University. It’s safe to say life has changed a lot for Suni Lee.
“Life has been absolutely insane. I went to the Olympics and that was like a dream come true. The only thing I wanted to do my whole life was go to the Olympics so after having that it was kind of like I felt a little bit free because I took a little bit of a break from gymnastics,” said Lee.
She worked her entire life for that moment this past summer, so admittedly there was a little bit of confusion after it was all over.
“At the same time, I was kind of lost because I’ve only ever worked towards the Olympics and done gymnastics so then when I won that I was like, what’s next?” She said.
Lee is now trying to be a normal student athlete at Auburn University, but just six meets into her freshman campaign she posted a perfect 10 on the uneven bars in a meet against LSU. It was Auburn’s first perfect score since 2004.
“People here are just really excited, but I love it. Everybody here is so nice to me and super supportive. They try to make me feel as normal as I can and I’m really grateful for that.” said Lee.
For Lee, attending Auburn to be a competitive collegiate gymnast was all about the love of the sport.
“I really just wanted to come to college to try and find my love for the sport again. At the Olympics, it didn’t really take it away but leading up to that was super hard so in my head, I didn’t want to do it again. Here (Auburn) it’s the complete opposite just being able to have fun and not really worry about anything,” said Lee.
Lee had wanted to compete in the Olympic games for as long as she can remember.
“I think what’s so special is you grow up watching all of your role models go to the Olympics and it’s just something you want to be able to say that you went to the Olympics,” said Lee.
“I think the one thing that makes it so hard is that everyone is watching you and you don’t really realize it. It’s one of the most exciting things ever and if I could go back I would,” said Lee.
Now she is thriving at Auburn University, scoring perfect tens and winning all-arounds. Auburn Arena consistently sells out when Lee is competing and she now has an arena with over 9,000 cheering her on.
When 11Alive's Maria Martin asked if Lee felt like she would go back to the Olympics, Suni Lee replied “hopefully,” with a smile.