Sunisa Lee facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Sunisa Phabsomphou Lee
Lee at the 2024 U.S Gymnastics Championships
Personal information
Full name	Sunisa Phabsomphou Lee
Nickname(s)	Suni
Country represented	United States
Born	(2003-03-09) March 9, 2003 (age 22) Saint Paul, Minnesota, U.S.
Training location	Little Canada, Minnesota, U.S.
Height	5 ft 0 in (152 cm)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Years on national team	2016–2021; 2024–present
Club	Midwest Gymnastics Center
College team	Auburn Tigers (2022–2023)
Head coach(es)	Jess Graba
Assistant coach(es)	Alison Lim
Medal record Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 1 3 World Championships 1 1 1 NCAA Championships 1 1 0 Women's artistic gymnastics Representing the  United States Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo All-Around Gold 2024 Paris Team Silver 2020 Tokyo Team Bronze 2020 Tokyo Uneven Bars Bronze 2024 Paris All-Around Bronze 2024 Paris Uneven Bars World Championships Gold 2019 Stuttgart Team Silver 2019 Stuttgart Floor Exercise Bronze 2019 Stuttgart Uneven Bars Representing the Auburn Tigers NCAA Championships Gold 2022 Fort Worth Balance Beam Silver 2022 Fort Worth All-Around
Awards	See awards

Sunisa "Suni" Lee (born March 9, 2003) is an American gymnast. She is famous for winning the gold medal in the all-around competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. She also earned a bronze medal on the uneven bars at those Games. More recently, at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, she won a gold medal with the U.S. team and two bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars.

Suni Lee was part of the "Golden Girls" team that won gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She also helped the U.S. team win gold at the 2019 World Championships and silver at the 2020 Summer Olympics. She has won two U.S. national titles on the uneven bars.

In college gymnastics, she competed for the Auburn Tigers. There, she won a championship on the balance beam. Suni is one of only three female gymnasts to win titles at the NCAA, World, and Olympic championships.

She is the first Hmong-American to compete in the Olympics. She is also the first Hmong woman and first Asian American woman to win the Olympic all-around title. Suni Lee has been a member of the U.S. women's national gymnastics team six times. With nine World Championship and Olympic medals, she is one of the most decorated American female gymnasts.

Suni Lee has received many awards. In 2021, Sports Illustrated named her Female Athlete of the Year. The Women's Sports Foundation named her Sportswoman of the Year. She was also included in Time magazine's list of the 100 most influential people. She won the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award at the 2025 ESPY Awards.

Early Life and Family Background

Suni Lee was born on March 9, 2003, in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Her mother, Yeev Thoj, came to the United States from Laos as a child. Suni is of Hmong descent. She was raised by her mother's partner, John Lee, whom she considers her father. She started using his last name professionally when she was a teenager.

Suni became interested in gymnastics at age six. She watched famous gymnasts like Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson on YouTube. Her father even built a balance beam for her from a mattress! When her parents saw her doing backflips outside, they knew she needed a safer place to train.

They enrolled her in gymnastics classes at Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota. She started training with coach Punnarith Koy. The next year, she won the all-around at a state meet, which was only her second competition. When she was eight, she moved up three levels. At age 11, she qualified for elite gymnastics. Jess Graba became her coach when she was about 12, and he has coached her ever since.

Gymnastics Journey

Junior Competitions

Starting Her Elite Path (2015–2018)

Suni Lee began competing in the Hopes division in 2015. She became a junior elite gymnast in 2016. Her first junior elite competition was the 2016 U.S. Classic. In 2017, she joined the junior national team. She competed internationally at the Gymnix International Junior Cup, where the U.S. team won gold. Suni also won a silver medal on the uneven bars. In May 2017, she decided to commit to Auburn University for a gymnastics scholarship.

In April 2018, Suni competed at the 2018 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships. She won gold with the U.S. team. She also earned silver medals on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She placed fourth in the all-around. A month later, she had to withdraw from a competition due to an ankle injury.

In July 2018, Suni competed at the 2018 U.S. Classic. She finished fifth in the all-around and won gold on the balance beam. At the 2018 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships, she placed third in the all-around. She won a gold medal on the uneven bars.

Senior Competitions

First Senior Year (2019)

Suni Lee made her senior international debut at the 2019 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. She won the all-around title and helped the U.S. team win gold. She also won gold on uneven bars and floor, and bronze on balance beam.

She won silver on beam at the 2019 American Classic. Suni faced some injuries this year, including an ankle injury and a hairline fracture in her left leg. Despite this, she competed at the 2019 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships in August. She finished second in the all-around behind Simone Biles. Suni won gold on bars and bronze on floor. She was then named to the national team.

A month later, Suni was chosen to represent the U.S. at the 2019 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Stuttgart. She was the only first-year senior on the team. At the World Championships, the U.S. team won gold. Suni qualified for the all-around, floor exercise, and uneven bars finals. She finished eighth in the all-around. In the uneven bars final, she won the bronze medal. She also won silver in the floor exercise final, behind Simone Biles.

Challenges and Olympics (2020–2021)

The COVID-19 pandemic caused many events to be canceled in 2020, including the Stuttgart World Cup. Suni also faced injuries, breaking a bone in her left foot and later injuring her Achilles tendon. In November, she officially committed to Auburn University.

Lee at the 2021 US National Championships

Suni returned to competition in February 2021 at the 2021 Winter Cup. She competed on uneven bars and balance beam, placing first on bars. In June, she competed at the 2021 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships. She won silver in the all-around behind Simone Biles and placed first on uneven bars. This qualified her for the U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Trials.

At the Olympic Trials, Suni performed very well. On the second day, she even scored higher than Simone Biles. She finished second overall, earning her spot on the 2020 U.S. Olympic team for the Tokyo Games.

Tokyo Olympic Games (2020)

The 2020 Summer Olympics were held in Tokyo in July-August 2021 due to the pandemic delay. Suni competed on all four events during qualifications. The U.S. team advanced to the final in second place. Suni finished third overall and qualified for the individual all-around final. She also qualified for the uneven bars and balance beam finals.

In the team final, Suni stepped up when Simone Biles withdrew. She performed well on all her routines. The U.S. team won the silver medal. In the all-around final, Suni performed brilliantly. She won the gold medal, becoming the sixth U.S. woman to win this title. This was a historic moment, as she was the first Hmong-American Olympian and the first Asian American woman to win the Olympic all-around.

In the uneven bars final, Suni won the bronze medal. In the balance beam final, she placed fifth. After her amazing success, the governor of Minnesota and the mayor of St. Paul declared July 30, 2021, as "Sunisa Lee Day." In August 2021, Suni enrolled at Auburn University to compete in college gymnastics.

College Gymnastics (NCAA)

First Season (2021–2022)

Suni Lee made her college gymnastics debut on January 7, 2022, for Auburn. She competed on uneven bars and balance beam. She made her all-around debut on January 28 against Alabama, winning the all-around title. On February 5, she earned her first perfect ten score on the uneven bars. She was the first Auburn gymnast since 2004 to achieve this.

On February 25, Suni earned her first perfect ten on the balance beam. At the NCAA Championship, she finished first on balance beam and second in the all-around.

Second Season (2022–2023)

On November 15, 2022, Suni announced that the 2022–2023 season would be her last for Auburn University. She planned to return to elite gymnastics to prepare for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris. Her first meet of the season was the Super 16 event, where she won the balance beam title with another perfect 10.

In March 2023, Suni was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease. She announced on April 3 that she would end her college season early due to her health issues. This concluded her NCAA gymnastics career.

Perfect 10.0 Scores

Suni Lee earned several perfect 10.0 scores during her college career:

Return to Elite Gymnastics

Comeback and World Championships (2023)

In August 2023, Suni made her return to elite gymnastics at the 2023 U.S. Classic. She qualified for the U.S. Championships. A few weeks later, she competed at the 2023 U.S. National Gymnastics Championships and won the bronze medal on the balance beam.

Suni was invited to the team selection camp for the World Championships, but she chose not to participate due to her kidney health issues.

Road to Paris (2024)

Lee competing on floor at the 2024 Core Hydration Classic

Suni started the 2024 season at the 2024 Winter Cup. She then competed at the American Classic, winning first place on balance beam. At the Core Hydration Classic, she competed on floor exercise for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics and again placed first on balance beam. At the Xfinity US Gymnastics Championships, she finished fourth all-around and won a silver medal on beam. She was named to the U.S. National Team and invited to the Olympic trials.

At the Olympic trials, Suni placed second in the all-around and first on uneven bars. She was then selected to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris.

Paris Olympic Games (2024)

Lee winning bronze in the all-around at the 2024 Olympics

During the qualification round at the Paris Olympics, Suni competed on all four events. She ranked third overall and qualified for the all-around final. She also qualified for the uneven bars and balance beam finals. In the team final, Suni contributed to the team's first-place finish, helping the U.S. national team win their fourth Olympic team gold medal.

In the all-around final, Suni won a bronze medal. This made her the first reigning Olympic champion since Nadia Comăneci in 1980 to win another medal in the event at the next Olympic Games. In the uneven bars final, she won another bronze medal. In the balance beam final, she finished in sixth place.

Education and Personal Life

Suni Lee attended Battle Creek Elementary and later South St. Paul Secondary in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She received her high school diploma in June 2021. She then enrolled at Auburn University in August 2021 to study business marketing. She left after her second year to focus on elite gymnastics and the 2024 Olympics.

In August 2019, just before her first senior U.S. championships, Suni's father had a serious accident. He fell off a ladder and was paralyzed from the waist down. The following year, her aunt and uncle passed away. Suni has said that these difficult experiences made her tougher.

In March 2023, Suni was diagnosed with two kidney diseases. One of them is incurable. She sought medical treatment when her body started to swell and she felt sick often. She went to the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, where she received her diagnosis and began treatment. During this time, she took a six-month break from gymnastics. In April 2024, Suni shared that her kidney condition was in remission. At the 2025 ESPY Awards, where she won the Best Comeback Athlete ESPY Award, she brought her doctor as her guest.

Suni also appeared on Dancing with the Stars in 2021.

Competitive Skills

Here are some of the difficult skills Suni Lee has performed in competitions:

Awards and Recognition

Filmography

Suni Lee has appeared in several documentaries and TV shows:

See also

In Spanish: Sunisa Lee para niños