The Standard Journal

Suni Lee, hoping to be normal, enters the realm of the famous

- By Rachel Blount

TOKYO — Things you get when you win an Olympic gold medal in the all-around in women’s gymnastics: Instant fame. Shout-outs from celebritie­s on social media. A day in your honor.

Things you don’t get: A decent night of sleep.

“It’s been incredible,’’ Suni Lee said Friday evening, a little less than 24 hours after she won the most prestigiou­s title in her sport. “It’s just been insane. All my social media platforms have been blowing up. My phone is blowing up non-stop.’’

Lee still needs her rest, since she will compete in the uneven bars finals Sunday and the balance beam finals Tuesday . She was far too excited to sleep Thursday night after her victory in a closely contested all-around final.

In the first six days of the Tokyo Games, Lee gained more than 800,000 followers on Instagram, where stars such as Reese Witherspoo­n have congratula­ted her. She has been trending on Twitter.

Gov. Tim Walz and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter declared Friday as Sunisa Lee Day, honoring her in her home state and hometown.

Barely a day removed from her triumph, Lee said it still hadn’t fully sunk in. She was beginning to realize the world is now on a first-name basis with her, as it is with previous all-around champions like Simone (Biles), Gabby (Douglas), Nastia (Liukin) and Mary Lou (Retton).

That wasn’t something Lee thought about during 12 years of laying the groundwork for this day, when just making the U.S. Olympic team seemed like the highest goal possible. She isn’t putting on airs; asked how she will celebrate when she returns home, she said she just wants to “go eat a good breakfast’’ and get ready to start college at Auburn next month.

Her immediate reward was a day off Friday, followed by the chance to bring home two more Olympic medals.

“It’s just so surreal,’’ Lee said. “I never thought I could be an Olympic champion, and here I am.

“Right now, everything is so crazy. I’ve kind of been getting distracted. But as soon as I get back into the gym, everything will be normal.’’

Lee revealed Friday that she wasn’t completely confident coming into the Games. Her practices had been “terrible,’’ she said, which typically happens before she competes.

She usually pulls everything together once she’s in front of the judges. As a newcomer to the Olympic stage, Lee worried this time would be different. It was, but in a good way.

After Biles withdrew from the team competitio­n following the first event on Tuesday, Lee had to quickly get past the shock and score well in her three events to keep the U.S. in medal contention. She came through, which strengthen­ed her confidence going into the all-around final.

Lee adjusted on the fly throughout the all-around competitio­n. Her form wasn’t perfect as she started her bars routine, but she willed herself through her most difficult combinatio­n of skills to get the big score she needed. On beam, she nearly fell on an early turn, so she made an instant riskreward calculatio­n and took out a second turn.

With a lead of .101 over Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade going into the final rotation, Lee knew the gold medal hinged on her floor exercise. She nailed a new routine that had been assembled just hours earlier.

“I feel like I’ve learned how mentally strong I actually am,’’ Lee said. “Going into this, I thought I would crack under pressure and fall all over the place, because I was so nervous. I’m really proud of myself for staying focused.’’

Lee expects to maintain that focus in her two event finals. She hopes to do her highest-scoring bars routine Sunday, when she and Belgium’s Nina Derwael are expected to compete for the gold medal.

 ?? Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS ?? U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee competes on the floor exercise in the women’s individual all-around final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, July 29 in Tokyo, Japan.
Wally Skalij/Los Angeles Times/TNS U.S. gymnast Sunisa Lee competes on the floor exercise in the women’s individual all-around final at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, July 29 in Tokyo, Japan.

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