How Jordan Chiles' pep talk helped Auburn's Suni Lee win balance beam NCAA championship

FORT WORTH, Texas — Suni Lee added a twist to her longtime journaling ritual this season at Auburn.

The freshman started writing down her thoughts immediately before a meet. She had never done that before, even with entries dating back to when she was a 6-year-old budding gymnast.

Before she could win an NCAA championship on balance beam Thursday night, Lee naturally journaled.

What she wrote was an observation that her fellow Olympian also noticed.

"I feel like I've been putting too much pressure on myself," Lee said.

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UCLA's Jordan Chiles pointed that out to Lee. Chiles, who was Lee's teammate on the 2021 U.S. Olympic team, was competing Thursday in the individual competition during the same session as Auburn.

"I was talking to Jordan Chiles, and she was like, 'I can tell that you're stressed and you're nervous, and you're putting pressure on yourself,'" Lee said. "So she was giving me a pep talk, just like: 'Calm down, go out there and have fun.' That's what we're here to do. And I think I just kind of reminded myself of that, and I think I definitely took the pressure off of myself."

Lee was anchoring Auburn's first rotation of the night, on balance beam. She's one of the best in the world at that event, but she said it meant extra to win an NCAA title on beam "because in the past couple of meets, I was struggling on beam, so to kind of come back and just build that confidence again just means a lot." Lee fell off the beam at the SEC Championships meet. She bounced back in the NCAA regional with a 9.975 and a perfect 10.

This time, she hit her routine and scored 9.9625 despite the more strict judging at nationals. Lee became Auburn's second-ever individual national champion in gymnastics, joining senior teammate Derrian Gobourne.

"I knew she was going to do great," Gobourne said. Then she shrugged. "She's Suni. So it's super exciting to have her join me in the club."

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Lee was on her way to a 39.675 all-around score, finishing second individually to Florida's Trinity Thomas. Lee was one of four 2021 Olympians competing in the NCAA Championships, and she was the only one to win an individual title. It capped a season in which elite gymnasts have been implemented into the college game.

"I believe this is validation that it can be done," Auburn coach Jeff Graba said, marveling at Lee's quick transition to NCAA and her ability to "compartmentalize."

The journaling has always helped her do that. On her historic Thursday night, she appreciated the helping hand from an Olympic teammate navigating the same college stage as her.

"I just kind of went out there and enjoyed it," Lee said. "Just be me."

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Jordan Chiles gave Auburn's Suni Lee talk before Lee's beam NCAA title