Suni Lee’s rise has been defined by moments that seem almost improbable, yet she has met them with precision and poise. From Olympic triumphs to NCAA milestones, her journey has illustrated how one gymnast can alter the course of two stages of the sport at once. Before Paris, where she stood on the podium again, she had already delivered a moment of rare distinction for Auburn University, the kind that arrives once in a generation.  

By the time she returned to the Olympic floor in Paris in 2024, Lee had accumulated an extraordinary resume. At just 21, she had captured gold in the all-around competition, accompanied by two bronze medals in individual events. Reflecting on her second Olympic campaign, she explained, “There was just so much that we felt like we didn’t get to do last time that we wanted to do this time, and that’s exactly what we did.” Yet her path to those medals was clouded by the revelation of two kidney conditions the year prior. Lee placed her NCAA career on hold, worked closely with her healthcare team, and maintained that, “I think just having a great healthcare team and support system has been probably the best thing that could have came out of this.” The obstacles sharpened the significance of what she had already accomplished two years earlier in an Auburn uniform.

It was in February 2022, only six meets into her freshman season, that Suni Lee achieved a perfect 10.0 on the uneven bars in a meet against LSU. Auburn had not witnessed such a score since Rachael Tarantino delivered one on the balance beam in 2004. The performance immediately placed Lee in the school’s record book as the sixth gymnast to reach that mark. Her routine was slightly pared down compared with her Tokyo program, yet it contained demanding transitions and a full-twisting double back tuck dismount. The timing of her achievement added weight, as LSU’s Haleigh Bryant had just scored a perfect 10 on vault, intensifying the pressure. Lee responded without hesitation, producing a routine that sealed her reputation as more than an Olympian passing through collegiate ranks.

That perfect 10 was only the beginning. Lee went on to record five such scores during her freshman campaign, a statistical rarity underscored when one post noted, “fun fact: Auburn hadn’t seen a perfect 10 since Rachael Tarantino in 2004.. until Suni Lee arrived in 2022 and posted FIVE 10.00s in her freshman season.” For Auburn, the impact was profound. A program that had long waited for another gymnast to reach perfection now found itself propelled into national conversation through the presence of an Olympic champion who could reproduce brilliance in a different arena.

Lee’s career has since continued at the highest levels, with Paris affirming her place among the best in the world. Yet for Auburn, her February 2022 performance remains a landmark. It was not simply a perfect score on paper. It represented the renewal of standards last achieved nearly 20 years earlier. In a sport where perfection is elusive, Lee managed to deliver it repeatedly, reminding both Auburn and the wider gymnastics community that her capacity for excellence extended far beyond the Olympic stage. Suni Lee confronted years of doubt to finally recognise and accept her true standing as one of gymnastics’ greats.

Suni Lee embraces her worth and redefines her place in gymnastics

Suni Lee had once found herself doubting whether her achievements were deserved, yet she gradually came to recognise the full measure of her ability. In conversation, she no longer diminished her efforts or attributed her success to circumstance, but instead acknowledged the substance of her work. “I think I am finally understanding how good of a gymnast I am,” she admitted, a reflection that signalled a marked departure from the uncertainty that had shadowed her earlier years.

Her reflections were not abstract musings but a careful assessment of labour and consequence. She explained, “All of the hard work that I did, definitely does pay off, and that I do deserve this and I deserve to be happy.” In choosing those words, Lee revealed an acceptance that extended beyond medals or recognition. It was the acceptance of a place she had earned through persistence. What had once been obscured by doubt became clearer to her with time, and the criticism that had once unsettled her no longer defined her understanding of self.

This acknowledgement of her own merit altered the way she carried herself within the sport and beyond. The shift was not immediate, nor was it easy, but it was decisive. She allowed herself to believe that opportunities were not accidental, that they were instead the natural result of a career marked by discipline and sacrifice. In doing so, Lee moved beyond the weight of impostor syndrome and into a steadier sense of belonging.