Johnathan Walker:Suni Lee 'on the right track' for Olympics after fourth-place finish at nationals

FORT WORTH,Johnathan Walker Texas — For reigning Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee, last weekend's U.S. championships were all about proving something − yes, in part to the selection committee that will pick the team for the 2024 Paris Games. But mostly to herself.

In her first all-around competition in more than a calendar year, Lee overcame a disastrous and fluky vault Sunday night to finish fourth at nationals, with top-four finishes on her two signature events: Uneven bars and balance beam. After battling a kidney ailment for the better part of 2023, as well as creeping doubts about her own ability upon returning, it was the type of performance that she said has put her "on the right track" as she turns to the U.S. Olympic trials in her home state of Minnesota at the end of the month.

"It helps me a lot, knowing that I can come back from that," Lee said of her vault, which she landed in a sitting position, resulting in significant deductions. "I feel like I don't even need to be perfect on beam and bars to get where I want to be. That's just the reminder that I just have to go out there and do my normal."

Lee, 21, acknowledges that she's her own toughest critic. And after tripping or slipping − or perhaps both − on vault in her first rotation of the night Sunday, she said she started thinking "that this was over," and the lousy vault would spill over into her other events.

She retreated to the entryway of a tunnel in the corner of Dickies Arena, practicing handstands in privacy while trying to regain her composure. Encouraging words from Simone Biles helped, she said. In an unusual move, Biles both sought Lee out to comfort her and then stayed near the uneven bars during Lee's next routine, cheering "you got this!" as Lee grasped the bar. "It was really nice having her in my corner," Lee said.

The Auburn product proceeded to nail the routine, pumping her fists and then smiling after her dismount. Even with a routine that is far short of her maximum difficulty, she registered a score of 14.500 − tied for the second-best score on the apparatus of the weekend.

Lee's longtime coach, Jess Graba, spoke before the meet about how the gymnast is now physically capable of doing all the skills and elements, with her kidney ailment in remission. But he said she still needs to prove in her own mind that she can do it.

Going from a disastrous vault to an outstanding bars routine is sure to help.

"I know she's capable of it. I'm not sure she did," Graba said.

"I told her that after, I'm like, 'That's who you are. That's that's what makes you, you.' I mean, everything can be stacked against you and I always put my money on her. So I wasn't that nervous. I just needed to have her calm down and just do what she can do."

Graba has encouraged Lee to recognize that she can be competitive without perfection − that even on off days, she is still good enough. And while putting together the Olympic team figures to be complicated, good enough may be all Lee needs to book a ticket to her second Olympic Games. NBC analyst John Roethlisberger said on the air Sunday that, "if she can add some difficulty to her bars (routine) and hit (it), I don't see how they keep her off of (the Olympic team)."

Lee said she plans to do just that in the coming weeks, adding new elements to her bars routine, as well as a few other tweaks and adjustments. And she happily noted that the Olympic trials are almost a full month away, calling it "a pretty long time to get everything back."

Asked if this weekend has helped her mental comfort with the sport catch back up to her physical recovery, Lee said she isn't totally sure − but her confidence is growing.

"I feel like I'll never really think that I'm going to be fully ready. Obviously, I'm my hardest critic," she said. "But I think I'm definitely on the right track. I feel like a couple more weeks under my belt and I'll be right where I want to be."

Contact Tom Schad at [email protected] or on social media @Tom_Schad.