Christine Peng-Peng Lee

The last couple of weeks have been very difficult due to my recent knee injury. I was informed that I had torn my ACL and was devastated because I’ve committed such a huge part of my life to the sport. It happened at a very bad time and as you can imagine, the news was extremely hard to digest. I have spent a great deal of time consulting with doctors and did a lot of soul searching to determine what was best for me. I have decided to withdraw from the selection process for the 2012 Olympic Games. I do not want to rush into doing gymnastics for the Olympics if my knee could be at a greater risk and possibly affect me in the future. I will be attending the Olympic Games to support Team Canada and will be cheering them at the top of my lungs! I want to take this opportunity to thank my coaches, Gymnastics Canada, teammates and fans for all the love and support you have given me through this difficult time. I am truly honoured to be surrounded by such loving and supportive people. All of you have really helped lift my spirits with your kind words and well wishes. I’ve read every single message and have taken it to heart. I love you all!!! I am really excited about continuing my gymnastics career at UCLA and becoming part of the Bruin Family. I still have the same passion and love for the sport and look forward to competing in the future.

In 2018, not only did Lee win four regular-season and one post-season perfect tens (four on beam, one on bars) and end the regular season No. 1 on Balance Beam (9.985 RQS) and No. 9 on Uneven Bars (9.940 RQS), but she also won the NCAA Balance Beam title and contributed two perfect tens to help UCLA clinch their seventh national title.

On May 3, 2018, Lee was awarded the prestigious Honda Sports Award. She was named the Co-Pac-12 Conference 2018 Woman of the Year.

Lee competed for the UCLA Bruins gymnastics team. She redshirted her freshman year to recover from the knee surgery, and was unable to compete in 2014 due to another knee surgery. In her last meet for UCLA for the 2017 season, she scored her second perfect ten on uneven bars.

In January, Lee competed at the London Prepares series where Canada qualified a full team to the 2012 Summer Olympics. She was the highest scoring member of the Canadian team contributing a 55.565 all around score. Lee then placed fifth in the uneven bars final scoring 14.366.

In July, Lee travelled to London with the Canadian team to act as their captain at the 2012 Summer Olympics. Before the Olympics she told International Gymnast Magazine, "I am so honored to be team captain and can't wait to be there with the team through their Olympic journey. I want to make sure the team always stays positive and supportive with each other through this process, and that they enjoy the Olympics and stick together as a team. Also, I would like to pass on some of my experiences of being part of a team and handling different pressures that they may come across. My teammates will be looking to me for advice and leadership. As we get closer to the Olympic Games, the athletes and I will get more nervous and trainings will become more intense. I try to stay calm and always try to get everyone to stick together as a team because, during these pressures, having your team support you makes the experience more enjoyable. Everyone on the team is going after the same goals and dreams, and no one should feel isolated, because every member plays a substantial role. By having a positive attitude throughout the process and supporting one another, I think the team will do really well." The Canadian team finish fifth in the team final which it the highest placement Canada has ever achieved. The gymnasts wore white flowers in their hair as a tribute to Lee who always wears white flowers in her hair during competitions. She said, "They wore flowers in their hair in honor of me. Just a whole bunch of emotions went through me at that point because it was just amazing to have your teammates support you in that way. It wasn’t verbal support, it was physical. I thought it was an amazing moment, for them to even think of me at their Olympic Games."

In October, Lee was a member of the Canadian team at the 2011 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Tokyo, Japan. They placed eleventh in the team competition which meant that they would have to compete in London in January in order to qualify a full team for the Olympics. In qualifications, Lee was the top Canadian gymnast with an all around score of 54.632 and placed nineteenth in the all around final scoring 54.732. Lee told International Gymnast Magazine, "I thought qualifications when well, but there are still improvements I would like to make. I am really focusing on the process of my routines, like taking it one skill at a time. The results will come afterwards."

Later in October, Lee was a member of the Canadian team that won the silver medal at the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mexico. She was Canada's highest scoring team member, contributing a score of 55.325 which qualified her in second place for the all around competition but she only scored 54.575 in the finals placing her fourth behind team member Kristina Vaculik. Lee ended the competition by placing fifth in the uneven bars final with a score of 13.575.

Christine Jennifer Peng-Peng Lee (born June 27, 1993) is a Canadian artistic gymnast. She was a member of the Canadian team that qualified for the 2012 Summer Olympics and committed to attend UCLA after the Olympics, where she led UCLA to a comeback win at the 2018 NCAA National Championship. Lee prefers using her Chinese name, Peng Peng, when doing gymnastics and she claims that it makes her feel like "someone completely different."