Olympic Medalist Suni Lee Embarks on New College Journey
Sunisa “Suni” Lee shattered records at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. The young athlete, 18, won gold in all-around gymnastics, being the first Hmong American to participate in the Olympics and win gold. In addition, she won a total of three medals, one in each category. Now the gold medalist is off to college.
Lee posted a picture in front of Alabama’s Auburn University, the school she will be attending. The post was met with overwhelming support from different Olympic athletes.
Lee shared her excitement about attending college, where she is majoring in marketing principles and concepts. She will continue her gymnastics career under the direction of Coach Jeff Graba and Auburn University Gymnastics. Recently, the NCCA changed its rules so athletes can profit from their fame with their name, image, and likeness (NIL).
Imagine going to college with an Olympian??? Like even if you’re not an athlete you could run into Suni Lee on the way to class. I think my brain would short circuit
— Wren (@princesssfrogs) August 2, 2021
Suni Lee winning the all-around gold for #TeamUSA is awesome & amazing. She’s such a powerful, inspiring woman. I’m very excited for her, even if she’s unfortunately going to a sad cow college next year. #RollTide
— NorgeDan (@NorgeDan) July 29, 2021
“Nobody intended for me to win the all-around gold. I didn’t intend for that to happen,” Suni said in an interview. “So it was kind of like I already had my mindset on going to Auburn right away. So that was kind of the reason I came here because I knew I wanted to be here.”
Suni Lee on deciding to still come to college after Olympics: “I don’t think anybody intended for me to win gold. I didn’t intend for that to happen, so it was kind of like I already had my mind set: I’m going to Auburn. … I wanted to be here.”
— Bennett Durando (@BennettDurando) August 13, 2021
In another interview, Lee explained why she wanted to go to college.
“I don’t want to miss that college experience. I do want to go to college and have fun and kind of get away from this elite atmosphere — just because it’s so crazy, and I know that college is going to be way better.”
“I think, honestly, it’ll make me a lot happier, competing for a team and not individually like this. It’s scary. And I just feel like I want to have some fun in college. Elite gymnastics has just been so mentally draining and exhausting.”
Fans can watch the Tokyo Olympics on CBS and Peacock.
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