Three-time Olympic medalist Suni Lee announced that she has ended her collegiate gymnastics career due to an issue in her kidneys.
Lee, 20, posted the news on social media on Monday and said she will continue pursuing a spot with Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
"I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health related issue involving my kidneys," she said in the post. "For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks. I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery.
"It's been challenging to end my Auburn career early, but I am thankful for all the love & support. I will not stop pursuing my dreams of a bid to Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future."
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Lee won the gold medal in the all-around event, silver in the team event and bronze in the uneven bars at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
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Following those Olympics wins, Lee began competing at Auburn and started collecting more hardware. She earned 2022 NCAA All-America First Team honors in the all-around, beam and floor, 2022 NCAA All-American Second Team honors in bars, 2022 SEC Freshman of the Year and 2022 All-SEC. Lee earned the NCAA title in the beam and was the NCAA runner-up in the all-around behind Florida's Trinity Thomas.
Lee, who had previously announced that this would be her final collegiate season, missed Auburn's last four meets with what the university had only previously called "a non-gymnastics health issue." Since she did not compete at the NCAA regionals last weekend, she would not have been able to qualify as an individual for the NCAA championships, which will be held April 13-15 in Fort Worth, Texas.
The Paris Olympics will take place from July 26 - Aug. 11, 2024. The next marquee qualification event on the schedule for Lee would be the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Championships, which will be held in Antwerp, Belgium, from Sept. 30 - Oct. 8.
