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.

04:25Suni 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.

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