PARIS — Suni Lee’s feet hit the floor and her jaw dropped into a broad, gleaming smile.
With an Olympic medal at stake, it appears she might have even surprised herself.
Lee stuck the landing on that first tumbling pass of her floor routine in the all-around final on Thursday night, the key moment in the key routine that helped the 21-year-old win her second consecutive Olympic all-around medal. After a trying few years, she will take home a meaningful bronze medal after finishing behind U.S. teammate Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade of Brazil.
When it was over, Lee leaped back onto the floor with Biles, jumping up and down as they waved a large American flag. It’s the third time since 2008 that the U.S. has had two gymnasts on the podium in the women’s all-around final. Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin finished first and second at those Beijing Olympics, and Aly Raisman joined Biles as medalists in 2016.
For Lee, a return to the Olympic podium is a massive accomplishment − one she didn’t imagine was possible at various points over the past 18 months.
After winning the Olympic all-around title in Tokyo, then competing collegiately at Auburn, Lee was diagnosed with two kidney diseases that hindered her training and put her gymnastics career on pause. The diseases caused her to gain weight, and the medications required to treat them left her exhausted and frustrated. Lee returned to competition at U.S. Classic and nationals in 2023, but she withdrew from world team consideration because she wasn’t able to train consistently enough.
This year, however, she’s said her kidney ailments are in remission.
This story will be updated.
Contact Tom Schad at tschad@usatoday.com or on social media @Tom_Schad.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: USA’s Suni Lee wins Olympic bronze in all-around final
