![]() Both Chiles and Carey are participating in a U.S. “I was really excited, like I made the Olympics all over again,” Chiles said.Īnd a return trip to their sport’s biggest stage remains the goal for Chiles, Lee and Carey. Judges have awarded a staggering 69 perfect 10s this season, including a weekend when all four of the 2020 Olympians saw the iconic number flash across the scoreboard for them at least once. “And so that was definitely really cool for me and like something that I kind of got to switch over and be like, ‘OK, I want everything to be literally perfect,’ right?”Īn option that doesn’t exist at elite. “I kind of like the aspect of like trying to do things like as good as possible because you were going for that 10,” Thomas said. A former and maybe future elite - she said “nothing is set in stone” after this weekend - Thomas has been where the Lee and company are now, trying to figure out a way to recalibrate her skillset and her mindset. This week, the reality is she’s not the prohibitive favorite to win the NCAA crown.įlorida senior Trinity Thomas put together 18 routines this year the judges scored a 10.0, the most in the country. Yet the distinction might get lost in translation.Įight months ago, Lee stunned the world - perhaps herself most of all - when she became the fifth straight American woman to claim the Olympic title. Yes, the level of gymnastics might not be what you see at the Olympics, but if you held the Olympics every week for 13 straight weeks, they might look an awful lot like what will be showcased inside Dickie’s Arena this weekend. It’s one of the reasons collegiate gymnastics puts a premium on precision. The collegiate season spans a fraction of that while asking gymnasts to pull on their leotard and salute the judges far more frequently. The elite calendar is geared toward making sure athletes peak a handful of times a year. ![]() I was like, ‘Whoa, like this is a lot of competing.’” “But I would say, like the middle of the season. “We’re not training as much, so I’m not super tired,” Carey said. ![]() ‘Very Attentive': Family Remembers Truck Driver Killed in Fiery Crash on Central ExpresswayĬarey, who won gold on floor exercise in Tokyo, acknowledges going from 30-plus hours in the gym while training for the Olympics to the NCAA-mandated 20-hour limit with the Beavers - not to mention cramming a dozen-plus meets into three months - took some getting used to. Still, Lee and fellow Olympians Jade Carey (Oregon State), Grace McCallum (Utah) and Jordan Chiles (UCLA) will take the floor on Thursday with something the rest of the field does not: the weight of outsized expectations, the kind that comes with the territory after you’ve stood on an Olympic podium with the flag of your country being raised to the rafters. ![]() The now 19-year-old has done everything she has set her mind to, both on the mat and off. Her personal brand is booming and Auburn is in this week’s NCAA national championships for the first time since 2016, exactly as she hoped when she left Japan last summer. Relaxed rules on name, image and likeness meant she didn’t have to choose between “Dancing With the Stars” and taking online classes while competing for the Tigers. She moved to Auburn to start her freshman year just a couple of weeks after coming back to the U.S. Her all-around title and the splash of fame that came with it did little to mess with her plans. Then came the Olympics, the meet of her life, a gold medal she once thought unattainable and first-name-only status in her sport for life. Sunisa Lee arrived in Tokyo last summer relatively unknown.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |