Olympic champion Sunisa Lee confirms Paris 2024 ambitions: 'I know what I have to do to get there'
The Tokyo 2020 individual all-around champion in women's artistic gymnastics revealed in a video that she will compete in the upcoming season at Auburn before turning her focus on the next Summer Games.
Artistic Gymnastics
Sunisa Lee would like to be golden - twice.
The reigning Olympic individual all-around champion in women's artistic gymnastics will aim to go for an unprecedented second gold medal at Paris 2024, the American revealed Tuesday (15 November) in a video posted to her social media.
"Today I'm sharing a decision that has weighed on me for a very long time," Lee, 19, said. "This will be my last season competing at Auburn University. I'm so excited to share that after this season I will be returning to elite gymnastics. I have my sights set on Paris 2024 and I know what I have to do to get there."
"I'm looking forward to rolling up my sleeves and putting in the work," Lee added. "Gymnastics is my passion and something that I love so deeply because it pushes me to be the best version of myself every single day."
She's back: Lee eyes Paris 2024
Lee was the surprise individual all-around champ at Tokyo 2020 when teammate and reigning Olympic champ Simone Biles stepped out of competition mid-event.
Lee, then just 18, made history for the Hmong American community, and then committed to collegiate gymnastics at Auburn University, where in her freshman season she was national champion on the balance beam and runner-up in the individual all-around behind Trinity Thomas.
She will return to elite gymnastics for the full season leading up to the Summer Games in 2024, the U.S. women's team having just captured team gold at the recent World Championships in Liverpool (their sixth in a row), with Brazil's Rebeca Andrade claiming the individual title.
Lee added about her Paris aspirations: "As an athlete that has competed at the highest level on the world's biggest stage, I have been fortunate enough to experience that once-in-a-lifetime feeling - and the indescribable emotion when a gold medal is draped around your neck. But I don't want it to just be once-in-a-lifetime."
Lee - should she make it to Paris and compete in the individual event - will try and become the first back-to-back champ in the women's all-around since Vera Caslavska of the Czech Republic in 1964 and 1968.