Olympic champ Sunisa Lee still focused on college, not fame
By Will Graves article
Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
(Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
TOKYO (AP) - Sunisa Lee’s life changed the second she placed a gold medal around her neck. The newly minted Olympic gymnastic champion’s plans, however, have not.
At least for now.
Praise continues for Suni Lee s gold medal win
The praise for St. Paul gymnast Sunisa Lee continued on Friday after her gold medal win during the Olympics, with everyone from her local nail salon to members of Congress joining in.
After attempting her first skill at the women’s gymnastics team event,
Simone Biles knew something was wrong. The 24-year-old gymnastics champion had attempted 2 ½ twisting vault but soon withdrew from the team events and later the all-arounds, citing issues with her mental health.
Biles told reporters that she “had no idea where I was in the air” and that she was “having a little bit of the twisties.”
The “twisties” is a condition that is well-known in the gymnastics world but those of us who aren’t four-time Olympic gold medalists like Biles may not be familiar with what it is or how serious it can be.
Sue Bird,Â
Diana Taurasi and the U.S. womenâs basketball team face Japan in group play live at 12:40 a.m. ET (9:40 p.m. PT Thursday) on USA Network.
Following are highlights from tonightâs primetime coverage of the Tokyo Olympics on the networks of NBCUniversal:
SWIMMING â NBC
Rowdy Gaines on Dresselâs start in the 100m freestyle: âI canât begin to tell you how many times Caeleb and I have sat down together and talked about his start. He just explodes off the back footâ¦He wins the race in the first 15 meters. But who cares? Who cares how he won it? He won it!â
US gymnast Suni Lee wins Olympic all-around after injuries, tragedies and a horrific accident Share Updated: 6:32 PM PDT Jul 29, 2021 By Holly Yan, CNN Share Updated: 6:32 PM PDT Jul 29, 2021
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Show Transcript Suni Lee just won the gold medal in the gymnastics all-around after Simone withdrew from the competition. Let’s get into everything that went down, everything you need to know about Suni, and what Simone had to say about her win! If you’ve been keeping up with Olympic gymnastics you know that Simone Biles withdrew from both the team and individual all around competitions to focus on her mental health. Simone was heavily favored to win the individual all-around again and she landed in the number one spot during the qualifying round at the Olympics. But as Simone cheered from the sidelines and prioritized her well-being, her teammate 18 year old Suni Lee came in and stepped up to the challenge. Team USA Gymnastics has
Gabby Douglas and
Simone Biles. Lee was also the first Hmong American to keep at an Olympics, and now, the first gold medalist.
In the emotional final, Lee was rock-solid in every outing, outlasting Brazil’s
Rebeca Andrade.
Relive each of Lee’s routines, as well as her virtual interview with her family after winning, below.
Vault
Lee got off to a strong start, besting her 14.333 score from qualifications with a 14.600 on vault. She appeared unfazed when Rebeca Andrade and Jade Carey put up huge scores (15.300 and 15.200).
Uneven bars
In a routine that NBC gymnastics analyst Nastia Liukin said would “define” Lee’s all-around final, she delivered. Lee, an uneven bars specialist, performed the hardest version of her set and matched her big qualification score with another 15.300.