Suni LeeThe first Olympic all-around champion to compete in college, will return for her second season at Auburn, a representative for the gymnast said Friday, confirming a report.
“His intention is to come back”, Auburn coach Jeff Graba told reporters after speaking to Lee on Thursday morning, according to the Advertiser Montgomery. “NCAA gymnastics has been good for her in so many ways. But she will have to balance. She will have to make decisions in the future, but at the moment the decision is: “I think I can always do both.” So I think that’s where we are.
Lee, a 19-year-old from Minnesota, followed up her Olympic gold medal by taking second place in the NCAA Championships all-around behind Trinity Thomas from Florida. She also won the balance beam title and helped Auburn finish fourth on the team, the best program in history.
From Tokyo, Lee repeated an unspecified desire to return to international competition, which usually involves a different training plan and routines than college, ahead of the 2024 Paris Games.
“She has to decide whether she trains for 2024 or not,” Graba said, according to the newspaper. “She wants to train. She doesn’t want to be caught off guard. And she doesn’t want to commit, because she’s pretty damn busy right now.
For the first time in history, four American Olympians entered NCAA competition directly after the Games – Lee, Grace McCallum, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles.
Carey and Chiles plan to return to elite competition. McCallum said last month she was undecided.
The fifth member of the Olympic team, Simone Bilesdid not rule out a run for a third Olympics in 2024, but did not announce any specific comeback plans.
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