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Meet Suni Lee, the Hmong-American Olympic gymnastics champ: from battling a kidney disease to returning for the Paris Olympics 2024 – and almost meeting her idol Justin Bieber at the 2021 Met Gala

STORYKate Berbano
Three-time Olympic medallist Suni Lee is the first Hmong American gymnast to represent the US – and she’s going to compete again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this summer. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
Three-time Olympic medallist Suni Lee is the first Hmong American gymnast to represent the US – and she’s going to compete again at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this summer. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
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  • Lee took home 3 medals from the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the first female Asian-American All-Around champion – and she’s going to compete this summer in Paris after battling kidney disease since early 2023
  • In 2021, the St Paul native was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World alongside tennis legend Naomi Osaka – she’s also a fan of Justin Bieber and Harry Potter

After battling an incurable kidney disease, 2020 Olympic champion, Sunisa (Suni) Lee is defying all odds as she gears up for her comeback to the 2024 Paris Olympics.

“I could not bend my legs the slightest, I couldn’t squeeze my fingers, my face was swollen,” the 21-year-old said about her disease at the Team USA media summit in April. Luckily, the rising star shared that she has her ailments “under control” now.

Suni Lee poses during the award ceremony after the artistic gymnastics women’s All-Around final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2021. Photo: Xinhua
Suni Lee poses during the award ceremony after the artistic gymnastics women’s All-Around final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, Japan, in July 2021. Photo: Xinhua
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Although initially unsure if she would be returning for Paris, Lee is not one to back down from a challenge: “I was not ready to be done and I wanted to prove to myself that I could be better than I was at the last Olympics.”

In 2021, Lee was named one of Time magazine’s 100 Most Influential People in the World alongside icons like Naomi Osaka. This highly decorated athlete is truly becoming an inspiration to other young women. But what else do we know about the 21-year-old?

Suni Lee is the first Hmong-American Olympian

Suni Lee (right) with her family members, who are Hmong-Americans. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
Suni Lee (right) with her family members, who are Hmong-Americans. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
Lee’s stint at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics was definitely one for the books as she was the first-ever Hmong-American gymnast to represent the US in the games. Both her mother Yeev Thoj and step-dad John Lee were just children when their refugee families moved from Laos to St Paul, Minnesota, according to Today. They are Hmong, an ethnic group primarily from Southeast Asia and China who fought alongside the US during the Vietnam war.

She is the seventh Olympic gymnast to be a Dancing with the Stars contestant

Suni Lee and Sasha Farber competed on Dancing with the Stars season 30. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
Suni Lee and Sasha Farber competed on Dancing with the Stars season 30. Photo: @sunisalee/Instagram
Following in the footsteps of other star gymnasts, Lee told USA Today that joining Dancing with the Stars was one of her goals after the Olympics. The prestigious list of DWTS alums includes her teammates Laurie Hernandez, who snagged the mirrorball trophy for season 23, and Simone Biles, who placed fourth in season 24. The St Paul native killed it on the dance floor with her professional partner Sasha Farber even though they didn’t win the competition.

Her life-changing diagnosis