Suni Lee says she missed out on gold because she got distracted by Twitter, in relatable Olympic moment

Suni Lee won a bronze medal while competing in the women’s gymnastics uneven bars competition at the Tokyo Olympics, and while winning bronze after having already taken gold and silver is more than most athletes could even dream of, she’s still disappointed.

“Bars is something I really cherish,” the Minnesota native said, via Associated Press. “So when I mess it up, it really sucks.” Of course, her definition of “messing up” vastly varies from that of the average American. Lee does acknowledge that “it’s really cool” and certainly an achievement to  win the bronze, she just wishes it “was a (balance) beam medal,” as opposed to bars, which she considers “her thing.”

“This medal probably means more to me than the all-around gold medal did, just because bars is my thing,” Lee told People. “To mess it up like this, I was just kind of sad about it.”

Lee believes she “put too much pressure” on herself, getting “distracted” and “losing focus” after winning the gold medal, which skyrocketed the athlete to international success practically overnight. Since being in Tokyo, Lee has gained over 1 million followers, all of whom are enthusiastically rooting her on — which ironically, may have actually put unnecessary pressure on the teen.

“I felt like I wanted to make everybody else happy because bars is my thing and a lot of people were rooting for me,” she admitted, adding that she plans to “stay off social media for a little bit” to mentally prepare for the beam final on Tuesday.

“I’m probably going to delete Twitter. Instagram is not as bad because I can’t really see what people say, but [on] Twitter it’s just so easy to see everything. So I’m probably going to have to end up deleting that,” she said, though she might keep TikTok. “TikTok is my getaway app, it’s just so fun,” she said.

Still, Suni took to Instagram to share a message with her fans. “Olympic bronze medalist on bars,” she wrote. “Definitely wasn’t the routine I expected to do, but I’m so proud of myself for not giving up. Disappointed & sad but beyond blessed to say I’m third in the world on bars. Wish i could have gotten to show everyone what I am capable of!! Thank you for your endless support. Beam finals up next!”