Former Auburn gymnastics star Suni Lee registered for 2023 U.S. Classic in August

AUBURN — Suni Lee is nearly back.

Lee, a gold medalist in the 2020 Olympics who competed for Auburn gymnastics for the last two seasons, is registered to make her return to competition at the U.S. Classic on Aug. 5. Lee has not competed at the elite or collegiate level since a meet against Georgia on Feb. 24 due to a kidney issue.

The 2023 season was always going to be her last at Auburn − she made that announcement in November, explaining that she would shift her focus to making a run at the 2024 Olympics in Paris − but the issue associated with her kidneys sidelined her for AU's final four meets.

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"I am so proud of my team and the way they showed determination and resilience this season," Lee said in a Twitter post in April. "Auburn, thank you for the best 2 years of my life and for giving me the opportunity to make history alongside this amazing group. I am forever grateful to this community.

"I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health related issue involving my kidneys. For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks. I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery. ... I will not stop pursuing my dreams for a bid to Paris in 2024."

Lee, who won the gold medal in the all-around in 2020, will be joined at the U.S. Classic by Simone Biles and Jada Carey, among others. Biles won the all-around title at the 2016 Olympics, and Carey was the champion on floor in 2020 competing alongside Lee.

As a freshman in 2022, Lee helped the Tigers make an appearance in the Final Four, was the national champion on beam and earned the program's first perfect 10 in 18 years in a February 2022 meet. She has career-high marks of 10 on bars and beam, 9.975 on floor, 9.925 on vault and the highest all-around score she recorded was a 39.825 against LSU on Feb. 5, 2022.

Richard Silva is the Auburn athletics beat writer for the Montgomery Advertiser. He can be reached via email at rsilva@gannett.com or on Twitter @rich_silva18.

This article originally appeared on Montgomery Advertiser: Suni Lee: Former Auburn gymnastics star registered for 2023 U.S. Classic