St. Paul gymnast Suni Lee offered up the word — redemption — last month at the U.S. Olympic Trials in Minneapolis. That’s what the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris were all about for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. Redemption.
After taking the silver medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, largely because the GOAT Simone Biles had to drop out of the competition at the last minute, Team USA vowed to be standing atop the podium in the end this time around.
The quintet of Lee, Biles, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera made it happen on Tuesday night at Bercy Arena, winning the gold medal with a dominant performance that left absolutely no doubt. As the celebration unfolded for Team USA on the mat, more than 4,000 miles away, Lee’s family and friends matched the intensity inside Unison Restaurant on the outskirts of St. Paul.
“It’s so emotional to see her out there,” Lee’s cousin Nicole King said as her eyes welled up with tears. “We’re so proud of her. She worked so hard for all of this over the past few years. We knew she could do it, and to actually see it happen is really exciting.”
Though a handful of Lee’s immediate family were in Paris to watch her in person, nearly 100 people gathered back home on Tuesday afternoon for the spectacle.
Roughly a dozen rows of chairs were lined up in front of a large projection screen with a handful of tables positioned off to the side for additional seating. Most of the adults proudly rocked shirts with “Team Suni” emblazoned on the front as they fixated their eyes on the television broadcast.
As excited as Lee’s family and friends were back home, the competition started with Team USA on vault, and Lee was not a part of that rotation. The restlessness inside inside Unison Restaurant was palpable as everybody patiently waited for the focus to shift to uneven bars.
A boisterous chant of “USA! USA! USA!” broke out as Lee was finally shown warming up on screen.
The leaders of the chant were the Xiong sisters. They like to consider themselves Lee’s biggest fans and showed up decked out in red, white and blue, equipped with a drum they banged on whenever they felt the group wasn’t loud enough.
“The last time she was in the Olympics, it was still COVID, so we watched together in a cabin up north,” May Lee Xiong said. “As soon as we heard about this today, we knew we wanted to join in on the fun.”
The cheers disappated when it was Lee’s turn on uneven bars and silence filled the room. The tension built as she floated through the air, and while Lee had to battle through a minor mistake early on, she stuck the landing to produce a massive roar.
“It’s a lot to take in,” Lee’s uncle Peter Lee said midway through the competition. “I’m so nervous right now.”
Naturally, the most stressful event of the bunch followed, and Team USA moved to balance beam. Though a fall from Chiles produced some gasps, Lee followed it up with a nearly perfect effort to take the edge off, then Biles provided the exclamation point.
Frankly, with Team USA boasting a commanding lead, floor exercise felt more like a coronation. After Lee, Chiles, and Biles all finished solid routines, the only thing left to do was celebrate yet another accomplishment for the hometown hero.
“She’s definitely an inspiration,” said Lee’s nephew Keydrick Thao while surrounded by some of his cousins. “She’s out here achieving really great things, and I think when we as a family see her do that, it makes everybody want to aspire to achieve really great things, too.”
Maybe the coolest part came after Team USA officially won the gold medal. As Lee celebrated in Paris with her teammates, her family and friends back home hopped on FaceTime with her mom and dad, who were in the stands soaking in the moment.
It was emotional for everyone involved, especially considering everything Lee had to go through to work her way back from the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
“Just seeing her compete again is a blessing,” Lee’s aunt Bernie Vang said. “She has a family back home that is always going to support her. We don’t care if she wins or loses. We love her no matter what.”
