Suni Lee Speaks Out After Earning Third Medal At 2024 Paris Olympics

Suni Lee took home her third medal on Sunday after competing in the women's individual uneven bars event at the 2024 Paris Olympics. She previously secured a gold medal in the team final and a bronze in the all-around final this Olympic cycle.

Lee also won a bronze medal in the uneven bars event at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Shortly after Suni Lee found out she had made the podium, the 21-year-old admitted she wasn't sure she would even be at this year's Olympics due to her battle with kidney disease.

On Sunday, the 2024 Paris Olympics held their individual uneven bars competition, with Suni Lee as the sole representative of Team USA.

Lee nailed her performance, finishing third behind Kaylia Nemour of Algeria, who scored 15.700, and Qiyuan Qiu of China, who scored 15.500. Lee earned a 14.800, securing a bronze medal--her third medal at this year's Olympics.

After the competition concluded, Lee told reporters that this bronze was "so much more meaningful."

"I told myself I was coming back to redeem myself on bars," she said, per People Magazine. "And that's what I did this time."

She added, "This time I was like, I'm not going to miss these routines because they're so good. Because it's not the same when you watch it on a replay. So I just wanted to see and I was just so happy because all the girls deserve it."

Earlier this year, Lee said that her battle with kidney disease "turned the world that [she] knew upside-down."

"My kidney disease has been difficult, and I know firsthand that sometimes the cause of your disease isn't clear-cut," she said at the time. "But I want to encourage others to be informed about their kidney health and become a self-advocate for a treatment plan that can allow them to live their best life."

In April 2023, Lee made the difficult decision to end her collegiate gymnastics career at Auburn University due to an undisclosed kidney condition. By September, this same illness forced her to withdraw from the selection camp for the world championship team.

After her doctor told her that the medications she was taking were working well, Lee was able to return to training. "The past couple of days I've been flooded with messages from people saying they've had chronic illnesses and the things they've had to deal with," Lee said after the uneven bars final on Sunday. "So it's a really good feeling, knowing that I can inspire others, especially because I've spent a lot of months in my lowest."

On Tuesday, the women's American team secured another Olympic gold medal, marking their third top finish in the last four Summer Games. They beat out the silver medalists from Italy by nearly six points, with Brazil rounding out the podium in third place.

"Even (Monday) night, we were all having a little powwow − (Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, and I) in the room, just talking about our age, what we're going through, how hard the Olympics is and all that stuff," Simone Biles said after taking home the gold. "... I think it translates out of the gym, as well. And once we're good and close and tight knit outside, then you see what you saw tonight. It was pretty good. It was fun. And we supported each other."

On Thursday, as Lee prepared for her floor routine, she was tightly contending for fourth place, with her competition separated by mere fractions of a point. She went out there and delivered a flawless performance, earning her a spot on the podium. Once the competition ended, Lee was awarded the bronze medal, leaving her "in shock."

"I didn't think that I was going to be able to podium," she said on the "TODAY" show. "So like coming in my floor routine, I literally told myself like, you know, we're just going to end it off the right way and I'm just going to do everything that I can to just finish it off, because being here is an accomplishment itself."

Suni Lee will compete in the balance beam final on August 5.