Through ups and downs, Suni Lee fights to second Olympic team, Paris 2024
Nothing has come easy through the last 18 months for U.S. gymnast Suni Lee, the reigning Olympic all-around champion.
The 21-year-old has been dealing with a kidney-related health issue since March 2023 that ended her sophomore campaign at Auburn University early and held her out of international competition for Team USA last season.
At times, it looked like the dream of a second Olympic Games might not be possible.
But Lee persevered - through everything - including through an up-and-down final night of competition Sunday (30 June) at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in hometown of Minneapolis.
"We didn't even think that I would be here, so everything has been hitting me like a freaking roller coaster," Lee said after the team was announced. "I have not stopped crying since, but I'm just so happy. I'm so, so glad that I never gave up."
Long-time coach Jess Graba summed it up succinctly: "Whenever things get tough, she usually gets tougher."
That was evident.
Lee came out of the blocks strong on Sunday (30 June), the final day of competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials for gymnastics, soaring to a 14.875 on the uneven bars, but came off the balance beam once and nearly a second time for a 12.825. She rebounded on the floor exercise, earning a 13.850 and a standing ovation from the crowd.
Lee capped her night with a 14.100 score for her double-twisting Yurchenko on vault.
It earned her a second standing ovation, as the hometown crowd honoured their hero who has been through so much.
"I’ve learned I’m a lot stronger than I think and I’m capable of anything if I put my mind to it," said Lee afterward. "My mind wasn’t always in it for the Olympics. … I just wanted to be healthy again."
Chaos dominated the opening night of competition with injuries to six-time world medallist Shilese Jones and 2023 Pan Am Games all-around winner Kayla DiCello, sending shockwaves through the arena, including the competitors.
Lee had to vault just minutes after DiCello, one of her best friends and roommate here at the trials, went down.
As she took the podium, Lee was still wiping away tears as she turned to salute the judges and perform her double-twisting Yurchenko. Despite slipping on the vaulting table, she fought to stay upright - it was emblematic of her night where she used all of her determination to get through routines on the uneven bars and balance beam.
Lee admitted the rash of injuries got to her.
"This week, like having all of the injuries have been... it was really hard on my mental health," she said. "I had to meet with my therapist yesterday and try and get my mind right because it was just so devastating to see a couple of my friends get taken out of this huge competition. My heart is with them. It's been so, so insane this week."
That reset helped continue her journey to Paris where she hopes to add more Olympic hardware to her gold, silver and bronze from Tokyo 2020.
"I think that we really want a team gold," said Lee. "This is the same team basically as 2020,so it's kind of like a redemption tour."