Suni Lee Relies On Self-Care Routine Amid 'Pressure' To Qualify For The Paris Olympics

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Just because you win three medals during your first Olympic appearance doesn’t mean you’re guaranteed another spot four years later—but Suni Lee is up for the challenge.

The 21-year-old gymnast had an epic Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo games as the first Asian-American woman to win the gold medal in the women’s all-around event. Plus, she won a silver medal in the team event and a bronze medal on the uneven bars.

Despite—or perhaps due to—her past success, Suni is training hard in hopes of making this year’s Paris games, and she’s a bit more nervous this time around. It was her dream just to be at the Tokyo Olympics—a goal she’d had in the back of her mind since age 13. “There was no pressure behind it besides the pressure that I put on myself,” Suni tells Women’s Health.

But now, as Suni carries the (literal) heaviness of her previous medals and titles, the pressure to qualify for the 2024 Olympics has “been something that I'm trying to work on just for myself because obviously, it's not good for my mental health,” she says. Most of the pressure Suni feels to make the Olympic team still comes from within her, she explains, but this time around, there's also the added element of being a public figure on social media, where she self-admittedly “spends too much time.”

But what ultimately keeps the Auburn University alum striving is her passion for the sport— something she's had since she first stepped on a mat at six years old. "I just absolutely fell in love with it, and I have not stopped since," Suni says.

While Suni keeps her standards as high as her flips, she has a pretty extensive self-care routine to keep her grounded. Ahead, find out exactly how Suni takes care of her mental health through her pre-meet routines and recovery tools.

Suni relies on simple self-care activities to support her mental health.

She finds peace in journaling, where she can freely write down whatever she's feeling before a competition. "It has been something that is both therapeutic and so incredibly helpful in my preparation for meets," Suni says.

Besides writing, Suni also goes to therapy, using it as a positive outlet to verbalize how she feels. “It's always good to have the outside help and just to be able to talk to somebody that doesn't really know what's going on,” she says.

Suni keeps her self-care routine simple because she calls herself a “super superstitious person,” so she’s hesitant to branch out to other practices. “If I do too much, I'll just get overworked and start overthinking,” she says. “I just try and stay with what works, and I think this has been working the best.”

Her pre-meet routine consists of visualizing the competitions and being her own hype woman.

One of Suni's tried-and-true practices is visualizing how each event will go the night before a meet. “I've visualized my routines for as along as I can remember,” she says. “I love visualizing myself in an Olympic arena and doing my routines just to get a feel of everything and all of the possibilities that could happen.”

The next morning, she'll continue her ritual by listening to her favorite music—SZA, Beyoncé, Nicki Minaj, and Lil Baby are all on the playlist—and then taking time to do her hair and makeup, which makes Suni feel ready for meets. “When you feel your best, you can go out there and compete your best,” she says. “That's just something that I've always stood on, and it's helped me every single meet.”

Suni’s recovery tools help her feel grounded.

While Suni certainly isn’t living the life of a normal 21-year-old, she does have a lengthy list of activities that help keep her grounded while assisting in her training recovery. At the top of the list? Spending time with her family and friends. “I am constantly with my siblings if I'm not in the gym,” Suni says of her five older and younger siblings, including her sisters Shyenne and Evionn and her brothers Lucky, Noah, and Justin.

Other than that, she loves going shopping, eating healthily, and taking naps. “I just listen to my body when it needs a rest or a break,” she says. “My naps usually turn into a [longer] sleep... it just helps me feel so at peace. That's when I'm able to go into the gym with a positive attitude and just stay motivated.”

So, will lightning strike twice? Suni will find out soon enough—and in the meantime, she has the tools in her mental health toolbox to help guide her journey there.

Shop Suni's Self-Care Staples:

Sweat-Activated Dry Shampoo

The Touch- and Sweat-Activated Dry Shampoos from Batiste, a brand with which Suni partners, are staples in her haircare arsenal. When using them, she doesn’t have to wash her hair as much—plus, they make her hair smell ah-mazing. “Throughout the day, I'll just get little hints of the fragrance and it makes me so happy,” Suni says.

Hoodie

Suni is also a big fan of Amazon, another platform with which she partners. "I love their athleisure, it's super comfortable and it comes super quick," she says.

Watermelon Glow Hyaluronic Clay Pore-Tight Facial Mask

"I'm big on face masks," Suni says, adding that she does a lot of them. She also loves lip masks, and one of her favorite brands for this type of product is Glow Recipe.

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