Suni Lee leaves NO DOUBT on Day 1 of US Gymnastics Trials
Suni Lee leaves NO DOUBT on Day 1 of US Gymnastics Trials
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00:00The 21-year-old from right here, St. Paul, Minnesota,
00:03in the reigning Olympic all-around champ.
00:05You can see she slid her hand on the vault,
00:25but did exactly what we wanted her to do.
00:28She dug deep and put it to her feet.
00:31We saw better ones in warm-up, but she got the job done.
00:34And this crowd, the hug from Jordan Childs right there,
00:37they know what she has been through.
00:40There's the number for Suni Lee, 13-525.
00:44Suni Lee getting set every time they say that name
00:47in this building, a huge roar.
00:50Big moment right here with Shailesh Jones' situation
00:54in flux.
00:55Shailesh was outstanding on bars.
00:57We had her penciled in on this event for Team USA.
00:59That's a question mark now.
01:01Suni Lee is big in this moment on this event.
01:05And this is going to be the first time we're
01:07seeing her do full difficulty.
01:10Missed her hand, pulled it back on.
01:13Beautiful, fluid swing.
01:27She connects so many of these elements,
01:29which is what makes her difficulty so high here.
01:32She puts it to her feet.
01:43Again, not the best routine we've seen from her,
01:46but she put that little mistake and kept it going.
01:49Her sisters, her best friend up there cheering.
01:53Everybody inside the Target Center cheering right now.
01:56I'm going to go against Sam on this one.
01:59It wasn't the best routine.
02:01It was the greatest routine Suni Lee has ever done.
02:04Whoa.
02:05Not because the gymnastics was the best.
02:07That puts her on the Olympic team.
02:11No doubt about it.
02:13We haven't seen her do that.
02:15She added the difficulty in.
02:16She does that.
02:17She might not even have to do that one more time.
02:19Are you going to agree?
02:20She might already be an Olympian.
02:21That was astronomical.
02:24That was a huge moment.
02:25OK.
02:26John, we get it.
02:27Are you going there with it?
02:28I agree with you.
02:29I think this put her on the Olympic team.
02:31And she has more difficulty.
02:33But it still wasn't her best routine.
02:35Look.
02:36Oh, that wasn't where she almost hit her foot on the floor.
02:39I'm not sure if she touched the ground.
02:42That's going to be a significant deduction.
02:43But she should still be high in the rankings,
02:47if not in that first place spot after this routine.
02:50And long story short, John, I agree with you.
02:53Suni Lee just made the Olympic team.
02:54It was the greatest moment, but not necessarily
02:57the best gymnastics.
02:58We'll agree.
02:58We agree.
02:59Thanking the crowd here inside the Target Center.
03:02Suni Lee, 14-4.
03:04Did it live up to the hype, John?
03:06No.
03:078-1.
03:08Come on, judges.
03:09I had it better than that.
03:10Just outside the top three, heading into this rotation,
03:13Suni Lee, nearby St. Paul, Minnesota,
03:17trying to wrap up a spot on the Olympic team.
03:20Two different types of kidney diseases
03:22she's been dealing with the last year and a half or so.
03:26Season cut short at Auburn.
03:28It's been really difficult getting everything,
03:31the medication right, trips to the Mayo Clinic and back.
03:35But the last couple of competitions
03:37look stronger and stronger, including here,
03:40inside the Target Center this week.
03:43And this is an event that you can really see her strength.
03:46She has a huge 6.7 difficulty start value here.
03:55And this, along with the uneven bars,
03:57is why Suni would be put on that Olympic team.
04:00So important routine for her here.
04:03Her coach, Jess Graba, said the goal
04:05is to be top two to three on bars and beam.
04:10Wow.
04:10Wow.
04:25Suni is someone that I would call a natural beam worker.
04:28She's really fluid from her skills into her dance,
04:31continues the rhythm.
04:37She has that finesse to minimize any wobbles
04:40that might come.
04:43Hanging on.
04:44Wow.
04:45OK, she did not minimize that wobble.
04:47But for anyone else, that would have been a fall.
04:59Trying to get off the beam as fast as possible.
05:03So it's not a fall, but significant deduction for her.
05:11Coach also told us she wants to be in the top three overall.
05:15She was just outside the top three at the US Championships.
05:23Other goals for her, though.
05:26I mean, she's trying to build toward making that team.
05:30Everybody is.
05:31But with what she's been through,
05:32as you look at the mountain right there,
05:34it has been a question mark.
05:36Yeah, she hasn't had much competitions under her belt.
05:39So they're really utilizing this as practice.
05:43Didn't quite get her chest up quick enough.
05:47So she landed in a pike position,
05:49which is really a recipe for wobbling on balance beam.
05:55Check it out.
05:56When her feet hit the beam, her chest is not vertical.
06:01But wow.
06:02How did she stay on that beam?
06:03I don't know.
06:04Willpower.
06:06It's Olympic trials, Terry.
06:07I don't know if you know, but a lot is on the line here.
06:09Really?
06:12The number first, though, for Suni Lee, 14-4 on beam.