Suni Lee is on top. The Minnesota native—who became the first Asian-American woman to win the gold medal in the women's all-around event four years ago at the Tokyo Olympics—just helped propel Team USA to win again. Suni—along with teammates Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera—nabbed first place in July 30's team event at the 2024 Games. Suni competed in bars, beam and floor.
"olympic champions forever 🥇🥇🥇😭❤️" the 21-year-old captioned a celebratory Instagram.
This is an extra-special win for Suni, who's now looking to reclaim her individual all-around title after experiencing some scary health issues. In April 2023, Suni was diagnosed with two incurable kidney diseases after waking up with unexplained swelling in her ankles, face, hands, and legs months prior.
"I just kept getting more swollen," the athlete shared in an interview with SELF.
For the 21-year-old, making the 2024 Games was an "incredible journey," Suni told TODAY host Hoda Kotb.
"There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick," she said. "But once I had those people around me who lifted me up and supported me and just made sure that I was good, I knew that this is something that I wanted."
Alongside sharing her incredible talent with the world, Suni has been open about her kidney diseases, struggling with eczema, and her mental health. Ahead, here's everything to know about the gymnast's health conditions.
Suni Lee has two incurable kidney diseases.
Suni initially blamed all the swelling she was experiencing throughout her body to her training regimen. After slipping off the bar at the gym, doctors then thought she was having an allergic reaction, but her symptoms didn't go away.
"I kept peeling off the bar. I couldn’t hold on,” she told SELF. “My fingers were so swollen, and I couldn’t even do a normal kip cast to handstand on bars.” She told the outlet that she gained around 40 pounds.
Suni's doctors doctors first discovered one kidney disease, then a second. While Suni hasn't shared her exact diagnosis, she has revealed that there isn't a cure for her condition.
She’s currently in remission.
Last September, Suni was forced to sit out of the world championship team because of challenges related to her kidney disease medication.
"They're still monkeying with the medication to try to get it so she reacts the same way each day,” her coach, Jess Graba, told USA Today. "As they're adjusting the medication, then some days aren't very good, so we have to adjust our training and sometimes we don't train that day."
In January 2024, Suni received a call from her doctor saying that her medications were working well, meaning she could head back to the gym and continue training.
"We have it under control now,” Suni told the Associated Press. “We know what to do and the right medication to take."
She has eczema.
In June, Suni opened up at a panel in partnership with Eli Lilly and Company (the pharmaceutical company and health equity sponsor of Team USA) about her longtime journey with eczema. Eczema is an inflammatory skin condition which Suni was diagnosed with at a young age.
"My skin was always super dry, super flaky. It was really uncomfortable because it was really itchy," she said, per CBS. "But my mom ended up taking me to the doctor and my doctor sent me to a dermatologist, and that's when we got my diagnosis and we found the right treatment plan."
The gymnast was embarrassed by the condition when she was younger because "nobody ever talked about it." However, this encouraged her to be the role model she wished she had growing up.
"It can be kind of isolating when you deal with eczema and having an eczema flare-up, so I just want people to know that you are not alone and it does not define you," she said. "When you deal with it and you're constantly looking down at your skin, you probably think, 'Oh, other people are looking at it and staring at it.' But in reality, I don't really think anyone's looking that hard."
Because of her dry skin, she swears by Aquaphor's Healing Ointment. "I use Aquaphor for everything. If I'm ever feeling very dry, I'll put it on my face, use it on my lips. I also have eczema, so I put it on my eczema if it's feeling irritated," she told Pop Sugar in July 2024. "I feel like Aquaphor just fixes everything. I never leave without it."
She’s open about her journey with mental health.
Competing in the Olympics for the second time can come with a lot of pressure, but she told Women's Health that journaling helps her find peace before a competition. "It has been something that is both therapeutic and so incredibly helpful in my preparation for meets," she said.
Suni also goes to therapy, a positive outlet that allows her to verbalize how she feels. "It's always good to have the outside help and just to be able to talk to somebody that doesn't really know what's going on,” she told WH.
As for her self-care routine, she keeps it simple. "If I do too much, I'll just get overworked and start overthinking,” she said. “I just try and stay with what works, and I think this has been working the best.”
Rooting for you, Suni!
Sydney Wingfield is a freelance writer specializing in the beauty and lifestyle spaces. A graduate of Penn State Harrisburg, Sydney's portfolio covers home trends, beauty launches, entertainment, and health news. Her work has been featured in publications such as Architectural Digest, Women’s Health, InStyle, Cosmopolitan, and many others.
