Olympic medal winning gymnast Suni Lee stars in Sports Illustrated swimsuit edition

The year 2024 has been a life-changing one for US gymnast Suni Lee. Her newfound success has opened more doors than she could imagine. In November 2024, she became a model for Sports Illustrated.

Suni Lee turned heads in a two-piece brown bathing suit during the photo shoot held in Florida. She told people, "I'm just living my life. I've never really been without gymnastics, so this is completely brand new to me and I'm still figuring out a routine and learning all the places, but it's been really fun."

Lee showed out during the 2024 Olympics. She had it all to do going last on the uneven bars individual final. Under the intense Olympic pressure, she delivered an exceptional performance, scoring 14.800 to beat Nina Derwael of Belgium (14.766) to win a bronze medal.

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For Lee, it's been quite the comeback story, having already won a bronze in the All-round and the famous gold medal in the team competition, making it three medals at the 2024 Games.

The five-woman team of Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, and Hezly Rivera topped the Olympic podium in scintillating fashion, posting a combined score of 171.296 in the gymnastics team final.

Lee has endured a remarkable and unexpected return to the medals at the Olympic Games. Here is her story!

According to the Hindustan Times, Lee was diagnosed with two incurable kidney diseases in 2023, and she felt like her gymnastics days were over.

The American gymnast won Olympic gold in the All-Around event in 2020 at 18 and quickly became an American sensation before starting her studies at Auburn University.

Her popularity grew to an overwhelming success, with stalkers lining up everywhere she went, and she was forced to settle with online classes.

Despite the problems at college, Lee's biggest challenge came last year after being diagnosed with kidney disease. She had to drop out of college, stop gymnastics, and move back to her hometown of Minnesota, where the side effects caused fatigue and overeating.

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The American gymnast had to sit out of training for six months and gained 45 pounds, according to the Woman's Health website. She had swelling in her ankles, face, legs, and hands.

Lee told Sports Illustrated: "I was just rotting in my bed. I couldn't talk to anybody. I didn't leave the house." In January, she was given the all-clear to return to training and described it as an 'incredible journey.'

The incredible gymnast told the New York Times: "We didn't think I would be here. There were so many times when I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick, and it was just so hard to stay motivated."

"Once I had those people around me who lifted me and supported me and just made sure that I was good, I knew that this is something that I wanted."

On the 30th of July 2024, Lee staged the impossible comeback and topped it off with ultimate glory, participating in three rotations and being a deciding factor in the USA's gold medal success. She has since added two more medals, winning six medals at two Olympic Games.

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