Auburn’s Suni Lee wins beam at U.S. Classic on road to Olympic trials (2024)

Suni Lee got back on the medal stand on Saturday night, winning beam at the U.S. Classic in Hartford, Ct.

It’s her biggest achievement in the elite world since bouncing back from the kidney disease that ended her sophom*ore season early and had kept her in and out in her Olympic training since.

All eyes in the gymnastics world were on the event: The top names in U.S. gymnastics competed and the meet was promoted as the first meet in which three Olympic all-around gold medalists all competed. Lee scored a stellar 14.600 on beam. She seemed to nail every part of her routine, including the highly difficult triple wolf turn and triple series, until a balance check on her ring leap at the end of her routine. She bested even all-around winner Simone Biles by 0.05, with a routine that if repeated in Paris could win an event gold.

Last Olympics in Tokyo it was a 14.633 by China’s Chenchen Guan that won gold on beam.

The meet serves as a major stop on the road to the Paris Olympics later this summer. Ultimately, it’s a qualifier to a qualifier: Gymnastics reaching a certain score threshold advanced to the U.S. Championships in late May, where an automatic spot at U.S. Team Trials will be earned. It’s at Team Trials in late June where the top candidates to make Team USA compete for final roster spots for the Olympics. Beyond that, the meet is one of those where the best prove they’re at their best at the right time on the way to the trials.

Lee competed only on beam, vault and floor, but did enough with her three-event score to make sure she’ll be at the U.S. Championships.

Her beam win is a milestone moment for her as she hits full speed again after returning from illness. Lee was originally given a 14.500 immediately after her routine but her score was later raised to 14.600.

Other Auburn Tigers

Signed Auburn recruit Katelyn Jong earned a top-five finish at the meet, taking fifth place on bars with a 14.050. She bested Florida All-American star Leanne Wong on the event, by two tenths.

Jong competed only on bars and beam.

Earlier in the day in the first session, her fellow signee Marissa Neal scored a 52.950 in the all-around, good for the best score in the session and good for top 10 in the more star-studded evening session. Her 13.550 on bars was good for top 10 in that event, as she finished in a four-way tie for ninth there.

Jong and Neal signed with Auburn last signing period and will compete for Auburn next season starting January 2025.

Two more verbal commits for Auburn for the signing class of 2025 competed, with their outings highlighted by Brynn Torry’s ninth-place score of 13.850 on vault.

Fellow commit Norah Christian also competed, had a rougher outing but cracked the top 15 on floor.

What’s next?

The roster for Team USA is selected at team trials in late June. The top two in the all-around at the U.S. Championships meet earn automatic spots at team trials — and the U.S. Classic was a qualifier for the U.S. Championships.