During the floor exercise, which would determine whether she would win the bronze, Suni Lee of St. Paul, MN took a deep breath and performed her routine to the song “Eye of the Untold Her” by Lindsey Sterling.
The Hmong American community took a deep breath with her.
As soon as she finished, the crowd burst into cheers, tears and applause as she remained to defend her title as the all-round champion, the first woman in 56 years.
In Minnesota, Lee’s community supported her non-stop, cheering as she executed the floor exercise with a score of 13.666. In an interview with TwinCities, her aunt Bernie Vang said they feel they have a place in America, like the other Hmong refugees who came to St. Paul.
“It’s incredible,” Vang said. “This shows how far the Hmong community has come. We’re a group of people who don’t even have a country and now we’re a part of history because of her. She has solidified that we have a place in this world.”
Her bronze medal caps an historic comeback.
In 2023, Lee faced two kidney diseases, forcing her to end her gymnastic career at Auburn College and causing her to gain 45 pounds in water weight. As she entered remission earlier this year, she revealed that she had sometimes been unable to bend her knees or squeeze her fingers and that she lived in constant pain during the treatment. Despite this, she returned to enter the Paris Olympics 2024 to showcase her commitment to this sport.
“We didn’t think I would be here,” Lee told Hoda Kotb on the “Today” show before the 2024 Olympic Games. “There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick, and it was just so hard to stay motivated, watching everybody get better, and I’m just like I can’t even get back into the gym and constantly doubting myself.”
This Sunday and Monday, Lee competes in the beam and bars finals, providing the Hmong American community and the entire world another opportunity to marvel at her incredible comeback.
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