And in 2019, John suffered an injury of his own, falling off a ladder and becoming paralyzed from the chest down, CBS Minnesota reports. However, Lee was able to go through with the competition anyway, and managed to still win silver in the all-around. [32] On the second day of competition, she continued performing clean routines and ended up winning the silver medal in the all-around behind Biles. In the Thursday, July 29 all-around competition, Lee delivered strong routines on vault and balance beam, along with the uneven bars, her specialty. ", It's clear there's nothing but love between Suni's teammate and father. John, who built Suni her first balance beam in their backyard, had an accident in 2019 that left himparalyzed from the chest down. Suni Lee's sacrifices combined with grit & determination have indeed paid off and after clinching silver in the team event on Tuesday, Suni would be focused on finishing on top of the podium by winning the biggest prize of the prestigious tournament. Not to mention, this was all happening when the Tokyo Olympics had been pushed back a year because of the pandemic. Published on April 3, 2023 02:41 PM. In his latest interview, John also shared an update on how Suni is doing after starting her freshman year at Auburn University. In 2017, she made the junior national team[7][16] and made her international debut at the Gymnix International Junior Cup, where the US won the gold medal in the team event and Lee won the silver medal on uneven bars. happy birthday dad! Lees parents, John and Yeev, both hail from Laos but are also Hmong, an ethnic group largely found in the mountainous regions of Southeast Asia and parts of China who fought beside the US in the Vietnam War, Elle reported. Her father John Lee had suffered a near-fatal accident in the year 2019. In the world of elite gymnastics, these young women can either go pro and accept sponsorship deals and endorsements, or head to college and compete on the school's gymnastics team. You dont think something like this would ever happen to you, Lee said, via Team USA. She had that really quick-twitch good power, recalled Koy, who still coaches at the gym. Her father John Lee had suffered a near-fatal accident in the year 2019. Details, Why Did Taylor and Joe Break Up? She is now the first Hmong-American to represent the U.S. in the Olympics and to win a medal. A post shared by Sunisa Lee (@sunisalee_), Suni will also be the first Hmong American to compete in the summer games. [34] She was the only first-year senior named to the team and the only team member without prior World Championships experience. Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) April 12, 2020. [37] In the uneven bars final, Lee performed a clean routine and earned a score of 14.800, winning the bronze medal behind Derwael and Becky Downie. We know *exactly* which destinations are going to be hot this year because we asked our favorite globe . July 30, 2021 / 7:19 AM There are six kids in the family Jonah, Shyenne, Evionn, Lucky, Noah and of course, Suni, who bonded with John through movement. As Lees father was recovering, she lost a close aunt to COVID-19 and, just two weeks later, also lost her uncle. [62] On February 5, in a meet against LSU, Lee earned her first collegiate perfect ten on the uneven bars. However, Biles, 24, bowed out of the all-around contest after suddenly dropping out of the team finals the day before, due to struggles with her mental health setting off a free-for-all where the gold was suddenly in reach for Lee and her competition. Her flips were kind of crazy she had been practicing in her yard and she clearly had some ability to go upside down without fear.. [41], Later that year, Lee spent two months recovering from a broken bone in her left foot,[42] as well as two months recovering from an Achilles tendon injury. He and his wife drove from Minneapolis with their three youngest children, Evionn, Lucky and Noah. [12] The following year, Lee's aunt and uncle died from COVID-19. Even though we cant go and support her in-person, Im glad that we could share with the world, her dad told CBS Minnesota following her incredible showing. document.getElementById( "ak_js_1" ).setAttribute( "value", ( new Date() ).getTime() ); This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. After Simone withdrew from the all-around final, Suni earned her history-making gold medal. "All the hard work all the broken bones, all the time you missed vacationing with us, it paid off," John said. Lees biggest competition in the all-around will come from teammate Simone Biles, who is the favorite to take home the gold. Sign up for the For The Win newsletter to get our top stories in your inbox every morning. FORT WORTH, Texas Suni Lee has been waiting for this. [6] She has three half-siblings, Evionn, Lucky, and Noah, through her mother's relationship with Lee, and Lee had two children, Jonah and Shyenne, from a previous relationship. Eventually, Lee was noticed by Jess Graba, a coach at Midwest Gymnastics. Gymnast's father shares journey of personal struggle. Team USAs gold-medal gymnastics champion Sunisa Suni Lee is an 18-year-old Minnesota native who secured the top prize in the all-around contest during her Olympic debut in Tokyo. [17] In May 2017, Lee announced her verbal commitment to Auburn University on a gymnastics scholarship. [22] Lee competed in August at the 2018 U.S. National Championships in Boston as one of the favorites for the junior national title along with Leanne Wong, Jordan Bowers, and Kayla DiCello. She FaceTimed her father in his hospital room before and after the competition for pep talks. He broke his right wrist and several ribs, but worst of all . Lee's 15.4 point score on bars was the highest score of the night. "Many groups of Asians get lumped together. Learn how your comment data is processed. She began pursuing the sport at age 6 after watching videos on YouTube. He is still in a wheelchair, but he can use his hands and he is getting better every day.. [65], Lee's first meet of the season was at the inaugural Super 16 event in Las Vegas, where she won the balance beam title with a perfect 10 as well as the all-around title with a 39.75. I knew he was watching me, so I did great for him., Unsurprisingly, the elite gymnast still has her dads back. That beam is still there., In 2019, Suni reciprocated the support her father had given her by being by his side following a devastating fall from a ladder that left him paralyzed from the waist down. According to reports, Suni's father fell off of a ladder while helping a friend trim a tree on Aug. 4, 2019, just one day before the then-Olympic hopeful left for the national championships. Lee considers John to be her father, and she began using his surname professionally as a teenager. During the Vietnam War, many Hmong natives lost their land and fled to Thailand before landing in the US. "It feels super . Were just all so happy, we cheered her on. November 16, 2021. The 18-year-old talks about dad's support throughout her career. John has always supported Suni's love for gymnastics, telling the "Today Show" that he even built a wooden balance beam for her in their backyard. She got there with hard work, perseverance. Lee did not compete for the remainder of the season due to the pandemic. Check out the hottest fashion, photos, movies and TV shows! Suni Lee's uneven bars routine is just next level. She earned a gold with Team USA, a silver in floor exercises, and a bronze on the uneven bars. Junior National Team Member Sunisa Lee Commits To Auburn", "Sunisa Lee on NCAA, Becoming a Senior, and More", "USA Gymnastics names women's 2018 Pac Rim, Junior Pan Am Championships Teams", "USA brings home 29 medals from men's, women's individual event finals", "Biles, Wong win all-around titles at 2018 GK U.S. Classic", "2018 U.S. Championships Results, Recaps, Photos, Videos", "USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international team assignments", "2019 City of Jesolo Trophy Live Blog The Seniors", "2019 City of Jesolo Trophy Live Blog Event Finals", "Gymnast Sunisa Lee places 2nd in US Championships. The Team USA gymnast, 20, shared a health . At the time, he was helping a neighbor prune a tree when he fell off a ladder. Suni Lee just earned a spot on the US World Team, while her dad is in the hospital paralyzed w/ a spinal cord injury. She won the bronze medal in the all-around behind Wong and DiCello and won the gold medal on the uneven bars. Entertainment Television, LLC A Division of NBCUniversal. @NMoralesNBC has the details. Lee could come away with a gold medal in the uneven bars final if she nails the routine, where she connects a chain of skills effortlessly. This content is imported from twitter. Suni Lee will certainly be a contender to medal during the all-around, and one of her biggest strengths come from her world-class uneven bars routine. Suni Lee dominated the women's gymnastics all-around on Thursday, winning the U.S. a gold medal for the fifth Olympics Games in a row. pic.twitter.com/kXcA3FQsJa. Watch Lee's winning uneven bars all-around routine here: Though Lee was, of course, thrilled about her win, grinning widely and giving out hugs, few were more excited than Lee's friends and family back home, who broke out into cheers after she earned gold. The trip took about 16 hours, but they arrived in time to see Suni before she went to the arena for warm-ups. She also qualified in second place behind Biles to the floor exercise final, beating out teammate Carey in a tiebreaker, and to the uneven bars final in third place behind reigning World Champion Nina Derwael of Belgium and 2015 World Champion Daria Spiridonova of Russia. At age 16, she defied expectations -. She begins her freshman year this fall, coming off of her Olympic run. [7] From six to 12 years old, Lee was trained by Punnarith Koy at Midwest Gymnastics. In September, Lee competed at the US World Championships trials, where she placed second in the all-around behind Simone Biles, losing by only 0.350 points. 2020 put U.S. gymnast Suni Lee through the wringer. [1][5][6] Lee is of Hmong descent, and her mother, a refugee, immigrated to the United States from Laos as a child. And while he now uses a wheelchair, he recovered enough to make the trip from St. Paul, Minnesota, to watch his daughter compete at nationals and later Olympic Trials. "Sunisa, she's very persistent. Her aunt and unclewith whom she was very close; they babysat her as a kidboth died of Covid less than two weeks apart. Young Suni Lee is all set for the final round of the Tokyo Olympics 2020 women's artistic individual gymnastics match on Thursday. Lee said her father "sacrificed everything" to help her achieve her dreams. Even though John was seriously injured, he urged his daughter Suni not to let it affect her and backed her to chase her dreams byparticipatingin the National Championships. ", He responded,"Oh, my God This is amazing," adding, "It'll be a little different because now they don't have to keep pushing me around. I dont want to disappoint my coaches or my parents.. It so happened that in August 2019, just a couple of days before Suni's first major senior elite competition i.e. John Lee (C), father of Sunisa Lee of Team United States, reacts after her scores posted for the balance beam in the Women's All-Around Gymnastics Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at a watch party on July 29, 2021 in Oakdale, Minnesota. "Hi, Mr. Lee, it's Simone. [29] After the conclusion of the American Classic, Lee was named as one of the eight athletes being considered for the team to compete at the 2019 Pan American Games along with Sloane Blakely, Kara Eaker, Aleah Finnegan, Morgan Hurd, Shilese Jones, Riley McCusker, and Leanne Wong. Gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics is scheduled to begin July 24. It has been learned that Suni Lee had a hunger to excel in gymnastics since the age of seven and her dad Johnevenbuilt a makeshift balance beamin the yard to help her then seven-year-old daughter follow her dreams. Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images Facebook But while the Olympian was mourning the death of her relatives, she was also helping to take care of her father, John Lee, who was left paralyzed after an accident. [61] As a result, Lee was named SEC freshman of the week for the first time. [7] She qualified for elite at age 11. Suni Lee just earned a spot on the US World Team, while her dad is in the hospital paralyzed w/ a spinal cord injury. She adds the Team USA Olympic silver medal and her all-around gold to her collection. However, the couple never married. "A lot of people don't understand Hmong people or that we went through a really rough life to get here to the United States," John told ESPN. Lee also won the all-around with a score of 39.825. [60] The following week, Lee debuted her floor exercise routine in a meet against Arkansas. KARE@10p #land10kstories pic.twitter.com/7qKfz2msD5, Boyd Huppert (@BoydHuppert) September 24, 2019, Your email address will not be published. He remains in a wheelchair, and said he is doing electronic stimulation on his legs. Suni Lee's focus is on her Olympic dream, and her dad's recovery from a spinal injury that has left him paralyzed. [9][10], At six years old,[1] Lee started gymnastics at the Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota,[9] a St. Paul suburb. the 2019 US National Championships, her father John fell off a ladder while helping a neighbour trim a tree The fall injured his spinal cord, leaving him . Lees father, John, was in the arena Friday night for the first time since an accident almost two years ago left him partially paralyzed. Leading up to the Opening Ceremony, were highlighting 23 athletes in 23 days. Lee and Jade Carey handily carried the torch after. John Lee also broke his right wrist and fractured several ribs. On the second night of competition, she scored a combined 58.166 on day two, higher than Biles' 57.533. andTodayare both part of the NBCUniversal family.). Lee is now headed into the individual event rounds with two medals under her belt. During the qualification round at the World Championships, Lee helped the USA qualify to the team final in first place, over five points ahead of second place China. ", She put her gold medal around his neck,andhe remarked, "I never thought that I would ever get one of these and she did it. It means a great deal.". This story has been shared 454,492 times. So far, more than 350 donors have given a combined $24,000 . 2023 E! But shes in a very different spot now, a favorite for the Olympic team. 2021 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. Lee described the Hmong community as really close and said their support has been amazing.. Ashley Landis/AP Minnesota native Sunisa Lee, also. She can stay focused when she puts her mind to it, he told Elle. Although she fell again on balance beam, her score on uneven bars (14.733) was the third highest of the day, as was her score on floor exercise (14.233). Of course, she faced the same huge challenge as all elite gymnasts did: staying ready for the postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, rescheduled for July 2021 due to the coronavirus pandemic. A champion and trailblazer Suni enjoys camping and fishing, is a fan of Harry Potter . The family is not able to be at the Olympics due to capacity restrictions because of the pandemic. ", "Lee dominates competition in Auburn Gymnastics' season opener", "Suni Lee Announces She's Ending Her College Gymnastics Career Early Due to a Kidney Condition", "Road to Nationals - NCAA Gymnastics Rankings", "JoJo Siwa, Olympic gymnast Suni Lee join season 30 of, "Olympic gold medalist Sunisa Lee joins cast of 'Dancing with the Stars', "DWTS: Suni Lee and Melora Hardin Eliminated in Semifinal Round Ahead of Season 30 Finale", "2021 Athlete of the Year: Olympic Gold Medalist Suni Lee", "Auburn's Suni Lee named SEC Freshman of the Year; Derrian Gobourne named Co-Specialist of the Year", "Auburn gymnastics star, Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee nominated for multiple 2022 ESPY awards", "St. Paul's Suni Lee wins national Sportswoman of the Year award", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sunisa_Lee&oldid=1149328290, Reverse grip swing to piked salto forwards to catch high bar, Laid out salto from high bar to low bar with full twist, Toe-on to counter reversed laid out hecht over high bar, Laid out salto backwards with legs together (to two feet), 1080 (3/1) turn in tuck stand on one leg, Switch leap to ring position (180 split with raised back leg), Double-twisting (2/1) double tucked salto backwards, This page was last edited on 11 April 2023, at 14:52. The 18-year-old has made a tremendous impact in the ongoing edition of the quadrennial event and has made it to the finals without breaking a sweat in the earlier rounds. [72], tenth most decorated American female gymnast, 2018 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships, History of the Hmong in MinneapolisSaint Paul, "Suni Lee's gold medal Olympics moment is America at its best (let's not ruin it)", "Gymnast Sunisa Lee's Gold Medal Elates Her Hometown Hmong Community", "Meet Suni Lee, USA's uneven bars specialist and the first Hmong American Olympic gymnast", "As Gymnast Sunisa Lee Wins Gold, Her Hometown Hmong Community Has Her Back", "St. Paul Hmong-American gymnast leaps toward her Olympic dream and history", "This Gymnast hasn't turn off her Olympic Countdown", "Olympic hopeful Sunisa Lee gets a big boost from father's presence at U.S. gymnastics championships", "St. Paul Olympian Sunisa Lee one of Time magazine's 100 most influential people of 2021", "Olympic gold medallist says she was pepper sprayed in racist attack", "Meet Suni Lee's Boyfriend Jaylin SmithSome Of Her Fans Are Angry He's Black", "USA Gymnastics announces women's spring international assignments as national team camp winds down", "U.S. [20] There, she won the gold medal with the U.S. team in the team final and won the silver medal on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. It would be the greatest accomplishment of any Hmong person in the U.S. ever, Lee's father, John, told Elle this spring, of the possibility of his daughter medaling in the Games. [45] In May, Lee competed at the U.S. Classic on the uneven bars and balance beam. John has been a great support system for Suni over the years and he even built her her very first balance beam at home when she was young. "Im really excited to get there., Why Does Simone Biles Wear a Goat? Lee was captured in a leap at the 2019 World Championships. "She goes to the gym and she practices but we don't have a beam here," he said. Heres everything you need to know about Team USAs newest golden girl. "You have done so much for her so I reached out to my friends at theTodayshow to see if we could do something special for you. Her mom, Yeev Thoj, and her. In August of 2019, her father fell off a ladder and injured his spinal cord, leaving him partially paralyzed. This content is imported from youTube. Unfortunately, due to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, Suni's parents (as well as the other athletes' family members) are cheering from their couches as the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team competes in Toyko. You may be able to find the same content in another format, or you may be able to find more information, at their web site. thank you for always being my number 1 supporter & my bestfriend. And if shes managed to post the second best all-around scores at both nationals and the trials while battling injury, imagine what she can do when healthy. Copyright 2023 CBS Interactive Inc. All rights reserved. On Aug. 4, 2019, just before Suni Lee left for the national championships, John Lee fell off a ladder while helping a friend trim a tree. All Rights Reserved, Please note that this form cannot be used to reset your Google, The U.S. Olympics Gymnastics Team Ranked by Height: Simone Biles, More, Heidi Klum Admits She Loves Going Topless: See Her Sexiest Photos Ever, Streaking, Nude Selfies, Oh My! A St. Paul gymnast is dedicating her Olympic dreams to her dad. [46] Lee was one of five gymnasts featured on the Peacock docuseries Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts. Olympic gold medalist Sunisa "Suni" Lee became America's hero when she took home the top honor in the gymnastics all-around competition at the 2021 Games in Tokyo. So were re-publishing this post from earlier in the month. "I tell her, 'Don't worry about me, just go and do well,'" John Lee says. She is the fifth straight U.S. woman to place first in the all-around event. I really do want to go to college and do college gymnastics. the2019 US National Championships, her father John fell off a ladder while helping a neighbour trim a treeThe fall injured his spinal cord, leaving him paralyzed below his chest. Lee has long dreamed of being the first Hmong Olympian, and that wish finally came true for her. "It means a lot," John Lee said. Just days after her father's devastating accident, Suni Lee made her senior debut at the US gymnastics championships - competing in honor of her father. Suni Lee, an 18-year-old Team USA gymnast from Minnesota, just took home the gold medal for the women's gymnastics all-around at the Tokyo Olympics. As Suni Lee looks forward to challenging for the podium spot in the gymnastics individual category, let's find out how her father helped her in realising her dreams. [48][49], On the first night of the Olympic Trials, Lee performed all four routines, with an uneven bars score of 15.300, and ended the night in second place behind Biles. What to Know About Gymnast Suni Lee, the Olympic All-Around Champion. However, Biles withdrew from the competition after the first rotation and Lee replaced her on floor exercise. Suni Lee dedicates Gymnastics to her father Dad recently suffered a spinal injury after a fall. Following her first-place win in the all-around, Lee will soon be back on the mat to compete in the individual event finals, where shes expected to crush the uneven bars and the routine she is most known for. But the routine everyone will be watching are uneven bars, where Lee is the favorite to medal in event finals with her world-class routine thats considered the most difficult in the world. At the world championships in October, she won a silver . Lee got her start at the Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota, when she was just 6 years old under the direction of coach Punnarith Koy. Lee soon caught the attention of Jess Graba, a coach at Midwest Gymnastics, who has been training her ever since. Instead we welcome donations to help support hosting costs. She placed second on beam and fifth on bars after falling off twice. Your California Privacy Rights/Privacy Policy. Koy previously told The Post he watched Lee execute a front aerial to back handspring stepout on the high beam at 9 years old a move that helped Gabby Douglas win gold in London in 2012. Lee made her all-around debut on January 28 in a meet against Alabama. The U.S. gymnastics championships, the first step toward securing a spot on the Tokyo Olympic team, yes. When discussing these tragedies, Lee said, "I am tougher because of it. WAR EAGLE! News App. Lee injured his spinal cord and broke several bones and ribs when he fell off a ladder while helping trim a tree at a. i love you so much, you are the reason i do it all. Her coach's twin brother, Jeff Graba, is the school's gymnastics coach and Lee will continue competing at the university. The father of six had supported Lee's gymnastics from the beginning - helping her perform tricks around the house, sometimes to the frustration of . [40] The Stuttgart World Cup was later canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in Germany. [7] At age eight, she moved up three levels. She went, and ended up placing second, after Simone Biles. Olympian Suni Lee and her immigrant father, John Lee, complete their American dream as the 18-year-old wins the all-around gymnastics title in Tokyo. All rights reserved. Most Facebook users can now claim settlement money. The gold medalist lost both her aunt and uncle to the virus less than two weeks apart. But at a large watch party, dozens of Lee's friends and family members jumped for joy and cheered when she won the gold. "[9], In 2021, Lee was included on the Time 100, Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world. Lee earned a spot in the all-around contest after placing third in the qualifying event but she wasnt expected to take home the gold while competing beside the GOAT, Simone Biles. Lee is now not only the first Hmong-American to represent the U.S. in the Olympic Games, but also to win gold. ", Olympic gold medalist Suni Lees heartwarming reunion with her family on our plaza after the Tokyo Olympics inspired Simone Biles to ask TODAYs help in coming up with a big surprise for Sunis dad, John, who was paralyzed two years ago. It so happened that in August 2019, just a couple of days before Suni'sfirst major senior elite competition i.e. Did you see the movie with Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino? So, I couldnt afford a real beam, so I built her one, he gushed to theToday show on July 29. Maybe because of Sunisa, people might know us.". But we're sure Suni's parents will continue to beam with pride as they watch their daughter perform and remember where she started.