Olympic Gold Medalist Suni Lee?s Fighter Dad Isn?t Her Biological Father- Here?s the Heartwarming Story of the Lee Family

At the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, Suni Lee became the first Hmong-American to compete and win at the Olympics. The 19-year-old gymnast made history for her community and continued Team USA?s legacy of winning the Olympic all-around title for the fifth consecutive time.

Central to her success is the support from her family, especially her father, John. The gymnast has five siblings, two of them from John?s previous marriage and three half-related to her. And even though John is not technically married to her mother, Lee considers him her dad.

Suni Lee has a strong bond with her father

The Olympic champion?s mother, Yeev Thoj, met the then recently divorced John Lee, when the gymnast was only 2 years old; the latter with two kids, Jonah and Shyenne, the latter only a handful of days older than?Suni Lee. But even though John and Yeev never married, the Olympian considers him her father.

“She wanted his last name,”?Yeev?told?ESPN. Suni Lee quickly bonded with John, the two sharing a passion for movement. They share fierce competitiveness and natural athleticism. Together, they would jump around and backflip off surfaces, making bets on Lee?s gymnastics competitions.

John knows her daughter very well.?“When Suni started competing as an elite, I traveled with her almost everywhere,”?John said.?“I always talked to her before the competition, and sometimes I’d be hard on her and she’d get mad. When Suni’s mad, she focuses a little better,” he added.

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But as Suni Lee?s level of proficiency changed, so did her father?s pre-match pep talks.?“Now she’s used to me telling her to go out there and have fun.”?Unfortunately, right before her first US National Championships as a senior gymnast, John had an accident.

John Lee was paralyzed from the chest down

According to an?interview he did in 2019, John Lee was helping a friend cut a tree limb when he fell from the ladder. The fall led to a spinal cord injury that left him in a wheelchair; paralyzing him from chest down

But there is still some chance of recovery. He went through a surgery where doctors implanted a device in his back that can stimulate movement in his legs. Combined with an exoskeleton, there is still hope for John to be able to walk again.

“Hopefully in the future, if I have upper-body strength, with the use of an exoskeleton, I can do a little walking,”?he shared.?“That’s my goal.”?Though it will take many trips to the VC and a lot of rehabilitation, he is determined to regain function.

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Watching her father push through the obstacles, Suni Lee finds herself beyond motivated.?“She always says she knows it’s harder for me to be where I’m at now,”?he continued,?“and it inspires her. I know it’s hard for her to be in her position, too.”?The father-daughter duo is tough as nails.