‘Adrenaline rush for all of us’: Suni Lee’s family, friends celebrate Team USA gold medal win
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St. Paul’s Sunisa Lee and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics team won gold in the team artistic gymnastics competition in Paris. As when Lee won her first gold in 2021, her extended family, friends and supporters gathered in Minnesota to watch her compete.
“It’s just an emotional roller coaster ride for her because she didn’t think she was gonna get back. And here she is,” said Lee’s cousin, Song Lee.
The star gymnast has dealt with kidney issues that almost kept her out of this year’s Olympics and threw her future in the sport into question. But her health improved, and earlier this year she made a comeback.
Her cousins, aunts, uncles and friends gathered in Maplewood to watch Lee compete in the team all around.
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Lee’s feet brushed the ground during her uneven bar routine, her first event of the day.
“Every time she flies off the bars. It just makes me nervous,” her aunt Malya Chang said. “Like you just want to hold your breath. She’s gonna catch it.”
Even with the deduction, Lee had the third best score of the day on the bars. But from then on, she was strong and consistent. She tied for the best balance beam score of the day.
Team USA pulled out the victory with a strong overall performance — winning by six points over Italy.
“I hate to watch, I want to watch but I hate to watch too,” Chang said. “But you know, I think this is definitely a feeling … I can’t describe it.”
Lee’s cousin Hua Cee Yang says she was so proud to see Lee win another gold.
“It’s exciting, it’s like an adrenaline rush for all of us, so, and just to be here with the family being able to cheer her on. It makes me even more happy. It’s such a proud moment, especially her being the first Hmong-American Olympian.”
Lee will compete in the individual all around final on Thursday, the uneven bars final Sunday, and the balance beam on Monday.
