As Suni Lee steps up to defend her all-around medal, she looks toward the source of her incredible strength: her father, John. Their bond, forged through countless hours of dedication and mutual support, is a cornerstone of her journey. Yet, behind their heartwarming connection lies a story of resilience and adversity.

While Lee continues to climb the gymnastics ladder, her father remains bound to his wheelchair. But things weren’t always that way. Until 2019, John Lee was perfectly fine and working as a product application engineer. A tragic accident changed the course of his life and shook the entire family. However, his presence in the Paris Olympics shows that it couldn’t shake one thing – his belief in Suni Lee. Their story is one of triumph over adversity, a powerful reminder that behind every great athlete is a foundation of unwavering support and love.

A tragic fall that changed everything…

Suni Lee’s family faced a major crisis in 2019 after John had a fall. He was standing on top of a ladder trying to help his friend cut down a tree branch. But then he slipped and fell. John was immediately rushed to the hospital, where it was revealed that he was now paralyzed. “According to the doctor, I’m pretty much paralyzed from here down,” John revealed in 2021.

For the Lee family, the accident was a crisis and Suni Lee’s gymnastics dreams were in trouble.

However, luckily for them, John’s employer immediately stepped up to support the family. “His accident occurred on a Sunday and on Monday, we had multiple team meetings to discuss how we could support John and his family,” Cummins manager Dennis Shaw said to WTHR in 2021. The company helped him in creating disability paperwork to ensure he got a role that suited him.

Two months after the incident, John went home in a wheelchair. And it took him a year to get back to work as a product application engineer.

“Cummins has been great in accommodating me to come back to work … I do everything a bit slower now and I’ve had to have speech therapy. My team helped me with the process of getting back—anything I need help with, Cummins has been very supportive,” John revealed. They were equally supportive during COVID-19, as John worked from home due to the pandemic and subsequent restrictions.

As for Suni Lee, went the tragic fall happened, she was scheduled to take part in a senior competition. For a moment, she feared the worst-case scenario. “I thought he was going to pass away when he was in the hospital, so I didn’t want to go to nationals and compete,” Lee said to the New York Times.

However, later her father encouraged her to take part in the competition. In the end, Suni Lee won gold, silver, and bronze at the 2019 championship. But that wasn’t the only time her dad supported Lee.

Suni Lee: Despite not being her biological father, John has remained her biggest supporter

John and Suni Lee aren’t biologically related. He began dating her mother Yeev Thoj when Lee was just two years old. However, from the moment John met Lee, he knew that he wanted to help her progress in the sporting world. According to John, Suni Lee went to the gym and practiced, but they didn’t have a beam and couldn’t afford to buy one. That’s when John had a bright idea.

He decided to build a wooden balance beam in their backyard. John did it using plywood and their mattress. The best part? That wooden beam stands to this day. Such is the importance of John in Suni Lee’s life that when she was a teenager, she decided to take the name Lee.

Their relationship also includes the regular pep talks that John gives to Lee. “I try to be confident for her,” John said to ESPN once. “You’re not doing this for nobody else anymore. Not for your friends, not for the Hmong community. You are doing this for yourself now, OK?” John said to Suni Lee before her Tokyo performance. That pep talk certainly worked, as she won a gold medal then.

So despite his life-altering event, John has remained Suni’s steadfast supporter, cheering her on from the sidelines and inspiring her with his unbroken spirit.

His presence is a testament to their unshakeable bond, providing Suni Lee with the emotional strength to pursue her gymnastics dreams. As she steps onto the Olympic stage once more in Paris, she carries with her not just the weight of her ambitions, but the enduring love and support of her father, who has faced his own battles with remarkable courage.