Lee: Focus on Olympics after '23 Auburn season

Reigning Olympic all-around champion and Auburn sophomore Sunisa Lee announced Tuesday that she would reason her NCAA vocation astatine the extremity of the 2023 play to instrumentality to elite gymnastics.

In an Instagram post, the 19-year-old said she would beryllium turning her absorption to making the U.S. squad for the 2024 Olympic Games successful Paris.

"Today I americium sharing a determination that has weighed connected maine for a truly agelong time," Lee said successful a video. "As an jock that has competed astatine the highest level, connected the world's biggest stage, I've been fortunate capable to acquisition that once-in-a-lifetime feeling and the indescribable emotion erstwhile a golden medal is draped astir your neck. But I don't privation it to conscionable beryllium erstwhile successful a lifetime."

While respective of her teammates from the nationalist team, including Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles, person been competing elite and collegiately simultaneously, Lee has lone competed astatine the NCAA level since the Olympics. Carey (Oregon State) and Chiles (UCLA) helped pb the American contingent to a squad golden medal astatine the satellite championships earlier this month, and some earned aggregate idiosyncratic medals.

Until Tuesday's announcement Lee had publically said she was unsure if she would instrumentality to elite, but told ESPN she ever knew heavy down what she wanted to do.

"I've ever had this tiny dependable successful the backmost of my caput telling maine I wasn't done with elite and wanted to springiness it different shot," Lee said. "As you adjacent the extremity of an Olympic rhythm and get person to the Games themselves, grooming ramps up to a constituent wherever it is wholly a full-time job. Seven to 8 hours a day, six to 7 days a week. I cognize that to person the champion changeable to correspond my state again, but I request to dedicate that clip and this determination allows maine to bash that."

While Lee said watching Carey and Chiles win didn't motivate her decision, she did admit it made her "even much excited to measurement backmost into that level of competition."

Lee became 1 of the breakout stars for Team USA astatine the 2020 Tokyo Games wherever she was the astonishment all-around champion, pursuing the withdrawal of teammate Simone Biles. She became the sixth American pistillate successful past to instrumentality location the honor, and the archetypal pistillate of Asian descent. Lee besides earned bronze connected bars and helped pb the U.S. to metallic successful the squad competition.

Since then, she has been awarded Sports Illustrated's 2021 Female Athlete of the Year, the Women's Sports Foundation's 2022 Individual Sportswoman of the Year and been named 1 of the 100 astir influential radical successful the satellite by Time Magazine.

Following a post-Olympics stint connected "Dancing with the Stars," Lee arrived astatine Auburn arsenic 1 of the astir heralded freshmen successful programme history. She became the archetypal Olympic all-around champion to vie astatine the NCAA level, and 1 of 2 idiosyncratic golden medalists to bash so, alongside chap freshman Carey. During her debut play with the Tigers, Lee helped pb the squad to the season-ending "Four connected the Floor" and she won the NCAA rubric connected equilibrium beam and was runner-up successful the all-around competition. She besides claimed the SEC rubric connected bars and recorded 5 cleanable 10.0 scores connected the year. She finished the regular play with the highest scoring mean successful the state connected some bars and beam.

Entering the 2023 season, Lee is expected to contend for respective idiosyncratic NCAA titles, arsenic good arsenic springiness Auburn possibly its champion accidental to assertion its archetypal NCAA squad title.

"I privation to beryllium the champion teammate I tin beryllium and proceed the astonishing bequest we were capable to physique past season," Lee said astir her goals for the year.

The Tigers sold retired Neville Arena's capableness of 9,121 for each of their location meets successful 2021. Earlier this month, the schoolhouse announced each play tickets for 2023 had been sold and remaining single-meet lone tickets would beryllium lasting country only.

While the docket has yet to beryllium released successful full, Auburn is expected to unfastened its play connected the roadworthy Jan. 7 and volition person its location opener connected Jan. 20 against SEC rival Arkansas.