US gymnast Suni Lee has put her imperfect performance on the uneven bars down to being distracted by social media.
A break-out star at the Tokyo Olympics, Lee won gold in the individual all-around and silver in the team all-around at this year’s games.
Her achievements made history, as she became the first Asian-American woman to win gold in the Olympics’ all-around competition.
The 18-year-old also took bronze for the uneven bars, but despite her success, told reporters she had been disappointed not to do better, explaining that she considered the bars to be “my thing”.
Lee was the clear favourite to win the uneven bars final, but uncharacteristic errors and an uneven performance meant Belgium’s Nina Derwael and Russia’s Anastasiia Iliankova were able to take first and second place.
“Bars is something I really cherish,” Lee said after the competition, reports the Associated Press. “So when I mess it up, it really sucks.”
Lee was positive about being able to go home with bronze, silver and gold medals, but expressed regret that her wins weren’t exactly what she had envisioned:
“It’s really cool,” Lee said in the report. “I just wish the bronze medal was a beam medal, not bars.”
Explaining to People, Lee said she thought social media had played a part in her being less than her best on Sunday, saying she had “got distracted and lost focus a little bit when I won the gold medal” in the all-around three days earlier.
She also admitted that she has spent a lot of time on social media while in Tokyo.
