Olympic gymnastics champion Sunisa Lee said a kidney problem cut short her career at Auburn College, but she still wants to compete in next year’s Paris 2024 Olympics.
The American, who has already announced her plans to leave college and resume training at an elite level this spring, missed the end of the regular season, the Southeastern Conference championships, and the NCAA regionals because of what she described as a “health issue outside of gymnastics”.
She revealed in a post on social media that it was related to kidney problems.
“It was challenging to end my career at Auburn early, but I am grateful for all the love and support. I will not stop chasing my dreams of qualifying for the Paris 2024 Olympics. In fact, this experience shaped my vision for the future. I appreciate all the love and support and want a special to thank my doctors, coaches, and the Auburn medical staff for their care during this time”, posted Sunisa Lee on Twitter.
Sunisa Lee became the all-around champion at Tokyo 2020 Olympics and then became the first reigning gold medalist to compete at the NCAA level, taking advantage of new rules allowing college players to be paid while competing. The American gymnast said in November that this would be her final season at Auburn before focusing on preparing for her second Olympics.
“Due to my health, the medical team has kept me from training and competing for the past few weeks. I am blessed and grateful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat my problem. My focus right now is my health and recovery”, added Sunisa Lee.
Sunisa Lee is a Hmong-American artistic gymnast. She is the Tokyo 2020 Olympic all-around champion and uneven bars bronze medalist. She was a member of the teams that won gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics. Sunisa Lee is a six-time member of the US women’s national gymnastics team and is the first Hmong-American Olympian. With six world championships and Olympic medals, she is tied with Gabby Douglas, Kim Zmeskal, Kyla Ross, and Rebecca Bross as the tenth most decorated American female gymnast.
