One in every 500,000 people becomes an Olympian.

And Iowa has two of them.

Aurélie Tran and Cassie Lee are only in their first years of competing as Hawkeyes, but their time as gymnasts goes back years prior. Representing Canada, the pair’s recent showing in the 2024 Paris Olympics marked only one of the most recent demonstrations of their athletic abilities.

“Being able to represent Canada at the biggest stage in gymnastics [was] just such an honor,” Lee said. “I was so grateful to be there and to be there with Aurélie because I’ve known her since we were babies. It was really great having a teammate that I’ve known for so long.”

Lee and Tran were highly-touted recruits with plenty of experience and skill, as they made the jumps to the Canadian national team and then to the Iowa Hawkeyes.

Tran began gymnastics at the age of five, and her accolades include a 2023 Pan American Games bronze medal and three to match at the Pan American Championships that same year. This culminated in the first-year’s nomination to Team Canada in late June 2024 where she helped her country place fifth.

Lee’s path saw her run a similar gauntlet to that of Tran with bronze medals at the same Pan American Games in Santiago and, later, the Pan American Championships in Medellín. Lee also nabbed a bronze medal at the 2022 Commonwealth Games in Birmingham before joining Tran in Paris this past summer.

Iowa first-year head coach Jen Llewellyn spoke highly of both athletes and expressed gratitude for what the two recruits have brought to the team.

“We got really lucky that they were already committed here at Iowa,” Llewellyn said. “I keep saying our job is to make sure they have a great experience and that we keep them. I am super grateful for both of them. It’s been a tremendous experience to be able to have their experience on this team and their maturity.”

Both of the new additions have put up high figures to aid the Hawkeyes in recent meets. Of Iowa’s three Big Ten dual wins, two of them have been upsets against ranked foes, namely No. 25 Nebraska on Feb. 1 and No. 26 Illinois on Feb. 16.

Tran specifically shined during a 196.350-195.700 road victory over the Cornhuskers, leading the Hawkeyes as the meet’s highest all-arounder.

The first-year student from Quebec posted a 9.775 on vault and a 9.825 on bars before nabbing a 9.875 on beam and a 9.850 on floor, good for a 39.325 all-around score. Iowa outscored Nebraska in every event except floor to pull off the upset.

“She’s an amazing gymnast to train with,” Lee said of her teammate. “She’s such a hard worker. I’m just so proud to see how far she’s come with NCAA.”

Lee also noted the camaraderie and competition between herself and Tran that pushes both to perform well.

“I love the competition between our team and the other, but for me and Aurélie, I feel like we both push each other to do better,” Lee said. “I feel like I’m always competing against her. She’s doing amazing.”

Lee’s own strengths have consistently been on beam, grabbing high scores across multiple duals this season.

In Big Ten matchups especially, the first-year student from Toronto has led by example. Lee’s lowest average beam score in a Big Ten dual was a whopping 9.400 in a 197.325-195.625 loss to Minnesota on Jan. 26. Her highest, on the other hand, where a 9.875 against the Cornhuskers, where a 9.85 and a near-perfect 9.90 put Lee in a five-way tie for the best score of the event.

While Lee’s career has seen her consistent across all four main events, such as at the 2019 Junior World Championships, prioritizing her health and safety this season led to beam being a focal point.

“Beam has always been one of my best events, so I was really excited to compete [on] it for college,” Lee said. “I’ve been mostly focusing on beam this season just because there’ve been a couple aches and pains during preseason, and we decided it was best to focus on beam for this season, especially coming off an Olympic year for me.”

The numbers Tran and Lee put up have worked miracles for the Hawkeyes, helping them with the two upsets the program has so far achieved this season. Llewellyn, in particular, praised Tran’s reliability as an athlete.

“What’s most amazing about her is that she’s very consistent in what she does, not just with gymnastics and the skills that she’s doing but in how she takes care of herself,” Llewellyn said. “She does a lot of extra mobility or rehab or prehab stuff on each event that you can tell she brought over from the elite world.”

Llewellyn also noted admiration for Lee’s vocals and ability to step up as a member of the program.

“There’s been a lot of moments in the gym and in competition where Cassie isn’t afraid to speak observations or things that are going on,” Llewellyn said. “She speaks as if she’s a veteran or a returner. You don’t usually hear freshmen speak up a lot or give their feedback on observations that they have. I think she just brings a level of confidence, a level of maturity, because of the experiences she has.”

Thus far, Iowa has broken even in dual meets at 3-3. With the CyHawk meet on the horizon, the Minnesota Quad just over a week later, and the Big Ten championships in Ann Arbor on the way in less than a month, the Hawkeyes brace for intense competition.

“I’m very excited to see how they’re going to continue to grow in college and really just come out of their comfort zone,” Llewellyn said. “Big things are in store for them in their four years here at Iowa.”