“We’ve overcome so much, we can overcome this,” were the words of Jordan Chiles’ teammate when she described how she copes with life’s biggest curveballs. But her toughest hurdle didn’t come on the balance beam—it came with the heartbreaking loss of her three-year-old sister to leukemia, which left her rethinking whether she even belonged on the mat anymore. A gold medalist in the all-around at the 2020 Gymnix Invitational, she battled grief and doubt with every routine. And now, she’s facing another turning point: to continue chasing medals or step away from the sport entirely. What has she decided?
Emily Lee’s sister’s demise in the year 2015 not only drew her closer to health care at a young age but also to gymnastics. She said in May 2022’s UCLA issue, “I only saw what it took from me, rather than what it gave me. But I started using (gymnastics) as a distraction, an escape from my problems. It’s like a cloud-no, it’s the sunglasses that protect you from what’s going on in the world.”
She was already immersed in gymnastics when her sister Taylor passed away. But now, after over a decade of flipping, leaping, and balancing under pressure, Lee has decided to close the chapter on her NCAA gymnastics career. Taking a final bow, Emily took to her Instagram in the early hours of June 9th, 2025, to pen down a heartfelt farewell. Along with several pictures of some of her memorable moments on the beam, there was a note that said, “Leave a room better than you found it, it’s been an honor @uclagymnastics”
Emily’s career as an elite gymnast ran from 2016 to 2021. Lee won the all-around at the 2020 Gymnix Invitational and earned 3rd place in the Winter Cup in 2021. Despite her elite aspirations, Lee’s path to the NCAA was cemented when she committed to UCLA in 8th grade. Unfortunately, an Achilles rupture while competing in the 2021 U.S. Olympic Trials put a full stop to her elite career even before it could fully prosper.
In the 2024-25 season, she performed alongside Jordan Chiles and her team on March 10th, 2025, during UCLA’s final home meet against Stanford. She scored a 9.825 on vault, having a strong start to the competition for the Bruins. This year was also her final one, and now she posted her closing message saying that it was time for her to say goodbye to the sport. But now that she won’t have to balance her gymnastic training and competitions with lectures, studying, and exams, what is her next goal? What has always been a promise she made to herself after her sister’s demise?
Emily Lee’s oath, with medical treatment
As Emily bids farewell to her sports career, she is currently majoring in Physiological Science at UCLA, and she plans to pursue a career as a physical therapist. Jordan Chiles’ teammate is not just a star gymnast but an athlete with a bigger goal. She had taken an oath on Saturday, April 19th, 2025.
After she completed her fourth year, there were speculations about her fifth-year eligibility. Sure enough, Lee confirmed that she was eligible for her fifth year. Lee said back in February 2025 to Ella Dunderdale from Daily Bruin Sports, “I have a fifth year, and I want to take it, obviously, at UCLA. I’m looking into other programs that are not necessarily phy sci, but things that I’m interested in.”
Her keen interest in the medical field comes from her sheer love for her late sister. And it would be safe to say that she did not choose the medical world; it chose her. She, as a 12-year-old, had to see her 3-year-old sister Taylor pass away at the hands of cancer.
“The biggest moment of wanting to enter the medical field was when I lost my sister to cancer young age,” said Lee in a publication in Daily Bruin in February 2025. She balanced books and beams together to help athletes get better medical care. Lee is no stranger to dangerous injuries and rehabs since her freshman season was plagued with an Achilles rupture and surgeries, with her unable to walk for a long time. “I want to work with athletes in the future,” Lee said in the same Daily Bruin issue. “To get them back to what they love doing, just like how my PTs did for me.” Now, Emily Lee is ready to help others heal, just like she once needed to heal herself.
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