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Canadian veteran gymnast Christine (Peng-Peng) Lee told IG that she is pacing herself in her recent return to competition for UCLA after a pre-Olympic knee injury kept her out of competition for two-and-a-half years.  Lee on beam for UCLA in 2015 "I’m not really putting pressure on myself to be perfect," said Lee following Monday’s meet against the University of Arizona at Pauley Pavilion in Los Angeles. "There’s obviously a lot of things I can improve upon, and I think just trying to get back into the rhythm is the expectation I’m going for." Lee, who was named Gymnastics Canada's International Athlete of the Year in women’s gymnastics for 2011-2012, was one of Canada’s top prospects for the 2012 Olympic Games in London. She finished 19th all-around at the 2011 world championships in Tokyo, and led Canada to a Games-winning team berth at the Olympic test event in London in January 2012. In training at the Canadian championships in May 2012, Lee tore her left ACL. She served as honorary captain of the Canadian women’s gymnastics team at the London Olympics that summer, after which she enrolled at UCLA. Lee missed the 2012-13 NCAA season while rehabilitating from the injury, and missed the 2013-14 season after she underwent revision ACL surgery in November 2013. Thus far this season, Lee has competed on vault, uneven bars and balance beam. "These routines are about half of what I was doing before, so I try to think of it as they are easy routines," said Lee, who is majoring in sociology and minoring in accounting. "My endurance and physical shape are there. I just need to go out and do it, just like I used to." Lee performed solidly at UCLA’s first meet of the season, held January 12 at Oregon State University, but suffered major breaks on uneven bars on Monday. She is confident that she will regain consistency as the season progresses.  Lee on beam for UCLA in 2015 "I think I let the nerves get to me a bit," said Lee of Monday’s mistakes. "It’s a lot different being at home. It feels very anxious and very exciting, and I can do very well when I’m calm. I was so excited to compete in Pauley, and I need to learn how to get into my zone and compete at that level again." Lee said she is preparing to return to all-around competition once she has put in more training on floor exercise. "Right now it’s just keeping my knee healthy and saving up for the rest of the season," she said. "I haven’t done any hard landings on floor yet, and before I go out in a competition I’m going to do the hard landings first. It’s just to make sure my knee is protected. It’s not any hazard right now. My knee is very strong. It’s just getting the mental game there again." Although Lee is focused on her UCLA season, she is not ruling out future international competitions including the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro. "I have considered it," she told IG. "I would love to go to 2016. Right now I’m focusing on the season, but after the season, it would be great to do another world championships or go to Rio. That’s definitely a long-term goal of mine, and I’ve kept it in the back of my head." International Gymnast magazine’s coverage of Canadian gymnastics includes:
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