Suni Lee has matured as a gymnast a lot from the time she won the Tokyo all-around gold medal. But while those moments in Tokyo saw her at the top of her game, since then her career has been marred with tragedy. With a kidney condition jeopardizing her Auburn NCAA career, many thought that her life as an elite gymnast was also said and done. But her ironclad mentality was too much to let her let go. Instead of going away, she has stayed. Even now, she is playing an integral role in NCAA women’s gymnastics. But how?
In a recent video of a press conference uploaded by UCLA Gymnastics on YouTube, a fascinating piece of news was revealed. It was informed by the media that this season, a whopping 172,998 fans attended the Big Ten Conference across the country. Surely, such encouraging numbers evoked a roar of excitement from the coaches.
While they took the opportunity to thank their fans, they also tried to highlight the possible reasons for the same. And one of them came out to be Suni Lee getting significantly engaged in the mix. It is no news that Lee loves her college dearly. Thus, despite not competing, the Olympic gold medalist has been regularly attending Auburn’s games. In a recent appearance, Lee visited a game where Auburn took on the LSU Tigers.
While she posed with Olivia Dunne for pictures, Lee’s engagement with the meet encouraged a lot of fans to turn up and support the NCAA gymnastics. Elated with the engagement, UCLA head coach Janelle McDonald stated, “And so you know I’ve always said that if you can get people to a meet, they’re probably gonna come back and bring two friends because it’s two hours of just, it’s like show-stopping fun, energy, amazing athleticism.” She also expressed her excitement about how the sport was slowly evolving and celebrated among the fans.
Echoing similar sentiments, head coach of Michigan University, Bev Plotky stated, “A lot of that is attributed to Auburn came with Sunni Lee and UCLA came with Jordan Chiles, and people appreciate good gymnastics and that’s what I told you.” She also went on to say despite being arch-rivals on the mat, both Michigan and UCLA were very much supportive of each other. Thus, their fans, too, showed up at each other’s meet to boost the sport as a whole. Surely, this was a heartwarming gesture and, well, starting the trend all along was none other than Suni Lee.
Suni Lee stuns NCAA fans with surprise visit to support LSU and Auburn stars
The LSU meet last week gifted the fans with a surprise! The Friday night did turn better for the gymnastics enthusiasts. Because Suni Lee turned heads at the No. 2 LSU vs. No. 14 Auburn showdown that night. Lee effortlessly balanced her Auburn pride with her support for LSU’s top gymnasts. The two-time Olympic gold medalist and Auburn legend was greeted with a standing ovation as soon as she appeared on the big screen.
Suni confidently rocked a sleek Auburn jacket as she posed with LSU stars Aleah Finnegan and Tori Tatum. Sharing the moment on social media, Lee wrote, “My girls .” Finnegan, who competed for the Philippines in the Olympics, stood proudly beside Lee. Their photo made waves in social media as it reflected the strong camaraderie between some of the sport’s biggest names.
Lee’s visit wasn’t just about Auburn. Despite being there from Auburn’s side, she did not stop herself from celebrating LSU’s success. She watched freshman Kailin Chio nail a perfect 10, an achievement Suni Lee knows well after recording nine perfect scores during her collegiate career. Even Livvy Dunne, who missed the meet because of a knee injury, made the night memorable by clicking a photo alongside Lee. Suni’s presence and unfiltered support for the athletes irrespective of their team indeed promoted their sport.
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