“Forget That I Won the Olympics”: Suni Lee’s Continuous Struggles Replaced Gymnast’s Life-Changing Win

Suni Lee had been expected to list herself among the names Jade Carey and Leanne Wong in 2022-23. These gymnasts were drawing attention for continuing both NCAA and elite gymnastics simultaneously. But the expectation hit a rock when Suni Lee announced her bowing out from Auburn in the first quarter of 2023. That announcement decimated her probability of featuring at the NCAA gymnastics once again. Furthermore, the reason for her bowing out sent a shiver down to her fans, thinking about the future of her career. Suni Lee was suffering from an incurable kidney disease. 

The situation went down south so rapidly that Suni had to pause her training for six months. However, she was thoroughly looking to defend her all-around Olympic title in the French capital. But the fateful situation engulfed her with a deep uncertainty of making a comeback. Recently, in an interview with Sports Illustrated, she explained her current situation that faced a hit from all those past occurrences. In a turn of moments, she even said, “I honestly forget that I won the Olympics sometimes.” Narrating her post-Tokyo Olympics experience, the Minnesota-born gymnast tried to point to the suffering that often leaves her alone, far away from fame. 

Suni Lee did not exaggerate when she said those. Initially, the Auburn medical team failed to come up with a straightforward answer to her disease. On the other hand, Suni’s condition deteriorated day by day. In one of her conversations, she narrated the horrific experience. “I just kept getting more swollen…and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds. It affected my whole body and how I looked and how I was feeling,” is an excerpt from that conversation. 

As per her description, her fingers were so swollen that she could not grab the bar at that time. That could be a nightmare for a dazzling gymnast who wanted to defend her Olympic all-around title. However, a few late improvements in her treatment made her chances clear for her future participation. But before facing kidney ailments, the 21-year-old gymnast had to fight with the brewing expectations. 

It reached sky-high as everyone started to think of Suni Lee’s sure-shot success in whatever event she would enter. Moreover, she had to counter some teammates in Auburn camp who weren’t the ‘nicest’ to her. That doubled the mental pressure on her. Thankfully, her Auburn coach Jeff Graba, and his twin brother Jess remained with her. They planned accordingly to keep Suni up for the challenges. 

Suni Lee’s agony finds the cure under careful watch 

Suni Lee appeared with a neatly planned schedule in the recently concluded Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships. Her coach, Jeff Graba, did not let the physical or mental pressure burden the gymnast. Furthermore, the usage of the petition to participate in the all-around division just before the US Nationals showcased the analytical prowess of the coach. And he used the same procedure to make Suni Lee fight for her dream. It was evident when Suni Lee received her phone call of life this year. 

Last year, because of her kidney ailments, Suni had to back off from several elite gymnastics championships including the Winter Cup and World Artistic Gymnastics Championship. But both Jeff and Jess Graba were keeping a tab on the modulation. So, when in January Suni Lee received the green signal from the doctors about her cure through a phone call, the coaches teamed up to plan something extraordinary.

The reason was that the Olympics were just 7-8 months away. Meanwhile, Jess Graba narrated the emergency in his words, “The last time around, we’d been training for five years—five, six, seven years.” But everything fell into place for the dynamic trio. 

Suni Lee performed, matching her expectations. Even she challenged the best names in the sport in both Core Hydration Classic and Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships. Now, she is in front of her home crowd in Minnesota to confirm her Paris Olympics ticket. Will be she successful in this endeavor? What do you think?