“I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health related issue involving my kidneys. For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks,” Suni Lee wrote on X on April 2 last year, shocking fans with an early college gymnastics retirement. While the then 20-year-old didn’t reveal exactly what her diagnosis was, the Olympic medalist has since steadily opened up about her career-altering condition—something she really struugled with in the beginning.

In February 2023, midway, through her sophomore year, the young gymnast noticed her abnormal swelling in her ankles, face, hands and legs. Initially thought to be an allergic reaction, doctors soon ruled it out when the swelling didn’t come down even after two weeks. “I just kept getting more swollen … and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds…I couldn’t even look at myself in the mirror. I didn’t even recognize myself,” Lee says now while talking about the incident. Multiple rounds of tests later, the former Auburn gymnast was diagnosed with not one, but two forms of rare and incurable kidney diseases. So what did she do? She took the best course of action—bow out of college gymnastics to focus on her Paris Olympics. But the job was easier said than done…

With lesser time in training, the gymnast “got a lot weaker”, and bouncing back was even tougher not just for her, but even her coaches. “My coaches have never had to deal with someone who has had two kidney diseases. And obviously, I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know any other gymnasts that have two kidney diseases that have had to go through this.’ So it’s all a learning process. And we’re taking it day by day,” she had said at the Team USA Media Summit in April 2024. Finding the motivation to execute her skills felt like a monumental task. But she bounced back in style and is once again on Cloud nine. Getting the hang of things, Suni Lee is ready to take on the next phase of her life with bravado.

The 21-year-old Olympian recently talked to OK! Magazine while discussing her collaboration with the American Kidney Fund on their “Know Your Kidneys“ campaign, revealing how her initial diagnosis made her feel like at rock bottom. However, three Olympic medals later, Lee seems to have taken firm control over her own life despite what the doctors had to say about her gymnastics career. “In the beginning, it was super hard for me to talk about it because I didn’t really know what I was talking about,” said Suni as she mentioned how learning about the disease has helped to open her eyes about it.

And that’s also the thing that made her realize that she wasn’t alone in the fight. Iterating how she understands that such a disease can leave families distraught, Suni Lee said, “I know if I was struggling then a lot of other people were too.” And this is exactly what embarrassed her—being unaware. “I used to be so embarrassed not because I had kidney disease, but because I didn’t know what I was talking about,” she said.

So, like a responsible public figure, Lee sought to educate herself about the disease as much as she could to give others confidence. “I didn’t want to share wrong information, but getting to speak about it and learning more about it has made me feel so much more comfortable in my own skin,” grinned the Tigers gymnast. While things definitely look bright, Lee’s journey to be where she is now wasn’t an easy one by any means.

Traversing mountains of self-doubt, Suni Lee has found her place alongside the GOAT

Just days ahead of the 33rd Games, Lee noted that she struggled to make herself believe that she could repeat her feat from Tokyo. The AA gold medalist at the 2020 Olympics, Suni had to bow out of the 2023 World Championships. Naturally, bleakness was the only thing that she felt. “Whenever I’m talking to my coaches, I get really sad because I’m never going to be the same. I’m not the same Suni, I’m not the same athlete,” she said in an interview before the rumble in Paris earlier this year. The situation broke her and shattered her to the core.

Face to face with the life-changing scenario and the fun college life she always imagined—that included hanging out with her friends, travelling, eating whatever she wanted—cut short, Lee locked her medal in a safe. “I honestly forget that I won the Olympics sometimes,” Lee told Sports Insider.

Thankfully, with the likes of Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles beside her, Lee once again found the flair inside of her and went on to the City of Love with gusto. Hours before the team hit the mat at Paris’s Bercy Arena, her teammates gave her a pep talk she won’t forget. “They were like, ‘No, you need to walk in and act like you are the reigning Olympic champion, because you look scared,’” Lee recalled.

It hit her hard. “And that’s something that’s stuck with me because I’m like, ‘Oh my gosh, you’re so right. I am scared to be here.’ But we all deserve to be there at the end of the day.” While she had to hand over her AA title to Biles, Lee didn’t fare too badly and walked away from the competition with a bronze in the event. Lee later recalled how knowing that she’s the role model of many an aspiring gymnast from around the world helped her to get over the troubles of her disease and go on to reclaim her status as an elite gymnast. How would you like to congratulate Suni Lee for her massive Parisian triumph? Tell us with a comment!