Suni Lee seemed on track to make another Olympics. She would compete her second and final year of NCAA gymnastics at Auburn in 2023 before returning to elite training a year before the Games.
Her plans were halted as soon as they began when she was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease.
The 2021 Olympic all-around gold medalist hasn't let that stop her. Lee made it to the 2024 Olympics after a strong showing at the U.S. Championships and the Olympic Trials. That earned her a right to defend her all-around medal in Paris.
The gymnast had endless hurdles to overcome to get to this point. The Sporting News explains Lee's kidney diagnosis and how her gymnastics career nearly ended early.
MORE: Updated results, winners from 2024 Olympics
Suni Lee kidney disease, explained
Lee's sophomore season at Auburn came to an abrupt end in February 2023, just part of the way through the season. Her absence from the lineup was presumed an illness, but no one knew the severity until April, when it was revealed Lee has two kidney diseases.
"I could not bend my legs the slightest, I couldn't squeeze my fingers, my face was swollen," she said at Team USA's media summit last month. "I looked like a completely different person. It was very, very miserable."
The 21-year-old was in constant pain and suffered from nausea and lightheadedness on top of it, she added. She could hardly go outside, she told Self Magazine, not feeling or looking like herself. Lee couldn't even confide in her teammates or mother without the fear of additional stress.
The worst part? She couldn't go to the gym. Her body was too swollen to flip properly or grab the bar.
After her diagnosis, the gymnast ended her career as a Tiger. She moved from Auburn back home to Minnesota for treatment.
On top of the physical symptoms, she was struggling mentally. Lee's doctors told her she may never be able to do gymnastics again, even though she already announced she was planning a comeback for the 2024 Olympics.
BEST U.S. OLYMPIANS
Top 33 rankings | Simone Biles | Katie Ledecky | Jesse Owens
Lee began managing her symptoms once her diagnosis was official. She slowly returned to training and eased off the intensity that elite gymnastics requires. She competed vault and beam at the U.S. Championships in August, earning a bronze medal on beam. Soon after, Lee received an invitation to the World Team selection camp. She declined and took the rest of the year off.
On Jan. 4, she received a phone call that changed everything. She can't say much of what the call entailed except that she could return to training, she told NBC Olympics:
It was just like a simple phone call. I can’t really talk about it, but it was a simple phone call. And I was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I'm going to the gym tomorrow and I'm gonna be better than I ever was.’ And that was the day I was like, ‘Yep, this is what I want. And I'm gonna put my mind into it.’
Nearly two months later, she competed at Winter Cup. But it wasn't the return she wanted, as she fell twice on bars and once on beam. Back to the gym she went.
In May, she competed at the Core Classic. While originally planning on all-around, Lee decided to drop bars. If she had another bad day and didn't qualify to the U.S. Championships, her Olympic return was done. If she competed on a few select events, however, she would be able to petition for entry to the Championships.
It was the right move. Lee ultimately won beam, earning a 14.6 to edge out Simone Biles. Afterwards, she successfully petitioned to go to the U.S. Championships, where she competed all-around for the first time in 15 months.
She succeeded there and at the Olympic trials — finishing second all-around behind Simone Biles — to stamp her ticket to Paris.
2024 PARIS OLYMPICS
Full Olympics schedule | How to watch in USA | Meet NBC's broadcasters
Naturally, Lee keeps her illness and progress under wraps. But she will share that she hasn't felt this good in a long time.
“I feel so much better,” she said. “I'm like, ‘I'm way better already than I was at the last Olympics.’ And I didn't even think that I could get better than that. So that gives me a little more comfort and knowing that anything that I put my mind to, I can accomplish.”
