Sunisa Lee: "A lot of the times people forget that we're human."

Though U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee may have made her run to Olympic gold seem effortless, floating through the air, performing a bar routine that seemed to defy the laws of gravity, she has an important reminder that it's all not as easy it might appear.

"I think it's important because a lot of the times people forget that we're human," she said, according to an interview with ESPN. "I think people just look at me as a famous person; they don't actually look at me as a person and to kind of see that we can make mistakes, too."

Last summer, Lee won a surprising all-around title at the Tokyo 2020 Games. Prior to competition, she was considered among the top favourites to take silver in the event behind a presumed win from compatriot Simone Biles. But when Biles withdrew from four individual finals, including the all-around, citing her mental health, Lee was suddenly a favourite for gold.

She capitised on that opportunity, winning the fifth-straight title for Team USA and becoming the first Asian American to win the crown.

But the surprise win weighed heavily on her, she says.

"Like impostor syndrome," she said. "That's exactly what I have. And it's very hard. It was very hard for me to motivate myself the first couple of weeks here because it was like I didn't want to do gymnastics, I hated it."

No rest for the weary

Lee, 19, hasn’t had much of a break since Tokyo. After returning home, she quickly joined the Auburn University women’s gymnastics team before splitting time between school and Los Angeles, where she participated in the reality competition show ‘Dancing with the Stars.’

When filming ended, it was back to school with her first competitions in NCAA just weeks away.

Collegiate gymnastics differs from elite, Olympic-level gymnastics in many ways, but one in particular is an increased focus on team results rather an individual. Lee’s presence on the Auburn team was expected to have a huge impact on the squad that has never finished higher than third at the Southeastern Conference Championships or fifth at the NCAA nationals.

"When everybody expects you to be good for Auburn, it's really hard for me just mentally, because I already put so much pressure on myself that when I have that extra pressure stress added on to it, I just kind of break," she said.

It wasn’t just pressure at Auburn. Lee’s presence at away meets drew attention, as well.

"I would have anxiety attacks at the meets," she said. "Like the first couple of the meets of this season, I was a wreck because it was like constant screaming my name and like, 'Suni, can you take a picture?' or 'Can you sign an autograph?' while I'm trying to concentrate."

Resetting ahead of SEC, NCAA gymnastics championships

Lee has adjusted, learning to calm herself by writing in a journal prior to competition. The results have been evident as she joins fellow Tokyo Olympic champion Jade Carey at the top of the national rankings heading into the final three weekends of competition in the 2022 season.

She’s ranked second in the all-around (39.750) just behind Carey (39.790) and is tied for the No. 1 spot on both the balance beam and uneven bars.

But that doesn’t mean it’s automatic for Lee. On Saturday 12 March, the three-time Olympic medallist had a solid but not spectacular day at a meet against the reigning NCAA championships from the University of Michigan.

Lee started strong on the uneven bars, receiving a 10.0 from judge and a 9.975 final score, but on the balance broke a connection and missed a requirement. A rotation later, Lee came up slightly short on her opening tumbling pass on the floor exercise. She ended with a 9.875 effort on the vault.

After competition, Lee took to Twitter and once again reminded everyone of her humanity: “not everyday is gonna be my best day, onto the next,” she wrote.