US gymnast Sunisa Lee announces Olympics bid

WASHINGTON, United States: Reigning Olympic all-around champion Sunisa Lee announced Tuesday she was ending her US college career next year to focus on trying to defend her title at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

The 19-year-old American, competing for Auburn University, said in a video posting on Instagram that she will complete her sophomore season with the Tigers then return to the elite gymnastics realm.

“As an athlete that has competed at the highest level, on the world’s biggest stage, I’ve been fortunate enough to experience that once-in-a-lifetime feeling and the indescribable emotion when a gold medal is draped around your neck,” she said.

“But I don’t want it to just be once in a lifetime,” Lee added.

Following the withdrawal of defending all-around champion Simone Biles, Lee was a surprise gold winner last year at Tokyo. — AFP