The 2024 Olympics are upon us, and starting tomorrow, the final representatives of Team USA will be named in Minneapolis. The upcoming US Gymnastics Team Trials will be the final hurdle on the road to Paris, and the country’s top stars are eager to show their worth to the best of their abilities. However, for the 2020 Olympics All-Around gold medalist Suni Lee, the excitement looks like a daunting challenge to face.

Lee’s rare kidney disease has pushed her into a state of despair, which can be a difficult pit to climb out of. Opting out of the 2023 World Championships raised doubts about her chances of returning for another Olympics, especially given her health challenges. However, Lee is determined to prove the critics wrong, even as she grapples with her own doubts.

Suni Lee is trapped inside her own head

A recent article by the Olympics.com chronicled Lee’s journey back to the highest levels as she struggled to meander around the incurable disease that plagues her mind and body. While Suni won a bronze on the beam at last year’s US Classic, her return has been anything but smooth, and the thought always lingers in the back of her head. “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,” the article quotes the gymnast’s words from the Team USA Media Summit from April.

However, her coaches do everything in their power to assure her that the challenges she faces aren’t an easy thing to overcome. “You don’t want to be. You’re doing everything and more right now, and you should be proud of the way that you’ve been able to come back from everything because you never thought that you would be in this position,” Suni revealed about what her coaches have to say to her.

“But it’s just hard mentally because I was in a really good spot last Olympics…now it’s just kind of hard switching that mental aspect of it,” Lee admits, unable to shake off the persistent thought. “I honestly forget that I won the Olympics sometimes,” confessed Suni to Sports Insider in an interview, but she won’t be the only one who has to prove to the world and to herself that the road doesn’t end right here.

A similar ordeal faces Simone Biles in the face

Along with Lee, Simone Biles will also be one of the biggest stars at the Target Center, and fans can’t wait to see what she has in store for them. Much of the country still remembers how Simone withdrew from the 2020 Olympics final due to the “twisties.” Now, with another opportunity at hand, the 27-year-old is determined to reclaim her throne on the grandest stage. Moreover, Biles has been impeccable in recent days. On the first day of the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, Biles made waves by scoring her first 60 points since the team trials in 2021.

Even so, it remains a tough challenge for Biles and Lee. Both have confronted their demons and fortunately for the fans, they are focused on leaving no stone unturned to showcase their mettle on the biggest stage once more.