Entertainment Sports Sunisa Lee Says She Grapples with 'Imposter Syndrome' After Olympics Gold "I feel like after the Olympics, there's just been so much doubt in like, 'Oh, she shouldn't have won Olympics, blah, blah, blah,' and it really hits my soul," the American gymnast said By Stephanie Wenger Stephanie Wenger Instagram Twitter Stephanie Wenger is a TV Writer/Reporter at PEOPLE. She joined the brand in 2021 as digital news writer, spanning across the site's verticals. She previously contributed to E! Online, HollywoodLife, Discover Los Angeles, Oscar.com and Hollywood.com. She appeared on air at AfterBuzz TV. She began her journalism career as an intern at Good Morning America and Access Hollywood. She graduated from Boston University with a Bachelor's in communications and received a Master's in journalism from the University of Southern California. People Editorial Guidelines Published on March 15, 2022 04:35 PM Share Tweet Pin Email Photo: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Suni Lee has revealed that she's struggled with "imposter syndrome" since winning gold at the Tokyo Summer Olympics last year. The Team USA gymnast, 19, told ESPN that she has lacked confidence following her success at the Games, during which she won the women's all-around competition. In total, she won three medals in Japan. "I feel like after the Olympics, there's just been so much doubt in like, 'Oh, she shouldn't have won Olympics, blah, blah, blah,' and it really hits my soul," she told the outlet. Suni Lee Celebrates Being Named to 2021 TIME100 List: 'No Way!' The Auburn University freshman added, "Like impostor syndrome, that's exactly what I have. And it's very hard. It was very hard for me to motivate myself the first couple of weeks here because it was like I didn't want to do gymnastics, I hated it." Lee has also faced new challenges while competing since becoming a household name with her success last summer. Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free weekly newsletter to get the biggest news of the week delivered to your inbox every Friday. "I think it's important because a lot of the times people forget that we're human," she said. "I think people just look at me as a famous person; they don't actually look at me as a person and to kind of see that we can make mistakes, too." Suni Lee Says She Was Hit with Pepper Spray in Recent Racist Attack: 'There Was Nothing I Could Do' She continued, "When everybody expects you to be good for Auburn, it's really hard for me just mentally, because I already put so much pressure on myself that when I have that extra pressure stress added on to it, I just kind of break." The athlete has also dealt with "anxiety attacks" at her college gymnastic meets for Auburn, she told ESPN. Said Lee, "Like the first couple of the meets of this season, I was a wreck because it was like constant screaming my name and like, 'Suni, can you take a picture?' or 'Can you sign an autograph?' while I'm trying to concentrate." Sunisa Lee Clinches All-Around Gymnastics Gold Then Tearfully Celebrates with Team: 'We're So Proud,' Dad Says Lee has started writing in a journal to cope with her feelings, according to ESPN, and once again found success on the mat. Last month, she performed a bar routine that included a move never before done in NCAA gymnastics, received a perfect 10 on the beam and took home another all-around title as Auburn set a record in a win against Kentucky on Feb. 25, according to AL.com. Lee received an all-around score of 39.775 to help the Tigers win against the Wildcats, the outlet reported.