Does Suni Lee Think ‘DWTS’ Was Harder Than The Olympic Games?

“I don’t think anything will ever compare to the work I put into the Olympics,” the young athlete told PEOPLE at the Sports Illustrated Awards. “But I have to say, probably Dancing With The Stars [was harder].”

At the Sports Illustrated Awards event, Suni Lee was crowned “Athlete of the Year.” Add that to her list of impressive achievements too!

She added that the dance competition presented an entirely new set of challenges.

“I didn’t expect it to go that way, and when I had to go into the gym every single day — or go into rehearsals, I was like — ‘Why is nothing clicking?’ So it was definitely harder that way.”

Suni and her partner Sasha Farber made it to the semifinals episode before going home. Sasha also once competed with Simone Biles during her season. He helped Simone with her choreography ahead of the Tokyo Olympics too.

What does the Olympic athlete do these days?

Now that her time on Dancing With The Stars is over, Suni Lee is focused on school, gymnastics, and being a normal college student. If you follow her on Instagram, you can frequently see her hanging out with her friends at school.

But even so, she knows that it’s an honor to be such a strong player in her sport. She went on to tell PEOPLE that she knows she needs to be a good role model for others.

“It’s definitely an honor, because there are so few Asian-Americans at the Olympics from the United States, so it’s definitely an amazing thing to say that I accomplished,” she said.

Keep checking back with us for the latest news on Suni Lee and other former Dancing With The Stars contestants! We can’t wait to keep you filled in.