Sunisa Lee’s Story Will Change How You See Olympic Champions
Aug 4, 2024; Paris, France; Sunisa Lee of the United States reacts after winning the bronze medal on uneven bars on the second day of gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2024; Paris, France; Sunisa Lee of the United States reacts after winning the bronze medal on uneven bars on the second day of gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Returning with the most coveted Olympic victory by the age of 17, Sunisa Lee did what most could barely imagine. But climbing to that height wasn’t easy at all.
The 2020 Tokyo Olympics witnessed Lee clinching an Individual all-around gold, silver in the team event and bronze from the uneven bars. But shockingly, the Minnesota native achieved this under unimaginable circumstances.
“The 18-year-old's father was paralyzed from the waist down after sustaining a horrific injury to his spinal cord in 2019,” the Daily Mail explained. “He fell from a ladder while trimming tree branches, days before Lee was due to compete in her first senior national championships.”
Aug 4, 2024; Paris, France; Sunisa Lee of the United States celebrates with coach Jess Graba after winning bronze on the uneven bars on the second day of gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 4, 2024; Paris, France; Sunisa Lee of the United States celebrates with coach Jess Graba after winning bronze on the uneven bars on the second day of gymnastics event finals during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
Witnessing her family struggle to support her, quitting was the only reasonable choice. But Lee’s father, John’s support remained constant, who “sacrificed everything” to push his daughter closer to her dream.
And back to gymnastics she was. As Simone Biles withdrew from most individual events at Tokyo, Lee became the torchbearer of success. And the history recorded her name as the fifth consecutive American woman to claim all-around Olympic gold.
Battling through whatever adversities life threw at her, Lee clinched her hard-fought victory. But little did she know, the battle wasn’t going to end there.
Sunisa Lee Fought Through Kidney Disease
Soon after the Tokyo Olympics, another setback manifested as Lee was diagnosed with two rare, incurable forms of kidney disease. But that didn’t stop her from qualifying for the 2024 Paris Games.
“It was so much fun,” she told Olympics.com in an exclusive interview in 2025. “That was probably the happiest I’ve ever been. It really makes me realize how much love I have for the sport of gymnastics and just competing in general.”
And that’s the only natural reaction after she returned from Paris with a team gold, two bronzes from all-around and the uneven bars. And most importantly, reshaping how the world sees the Olympic Champions.
Going forward, do you think we'll see Lee in action at the 2028 LA Olympics? Let us know in the comments.
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Written by
Deblina Roy