A number of years in the past, Suni Lee’s father suffered a horrific accident that left him paralyzed.
Suni Lee is among the gymnasts on Workforce USA competing on the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Memorably, she gained a gold medal on the Tokyo Olympics. Whereas she is neither the youngest nor probably the most well-known athlete to symbolize america in France, many eyes are on her.
Her household, together with her father, are cheering her on. However what accident occurred to her father?
A supportive household helps Suni Lee grow to be an Olympic athlete
Suni Lee is a Workforce USA gymnast from Minnesota. Now 21 years outdated, she is a school scholar.
Suni, whose actual identify is Sunisa Phabsomphou, is the primary particular person of Miao descent to take part within the Olympics. Her mother and father immigrated to america from Laos.
When Suni was solely two years outdated, her mom Yev met John Lee. John was just lately divorced and had two kids of his personal.
Sunie believed John to be her father and even modified her final identify to match his, regardless that he and Yev by no means married.
After the Tokyo Olympics, the extraordinarily proud John Lee instructed the media right this moment present He constructed a picket steadiness beam within the yard for Suni to apply with.
“She goes to the gymnasium to apply, however we do not have a crossbar right here,” he defined. “So, I could not afford an actual beam, so I made her one.”
That is when she was younger. Nevertheless, her father defined: “Liang continues to be right here.”
Suni Lee recovers from hem-injured accident with dad John Lee
It took Suni Lee years of onerous work and restoration to win the 2021 gold medal. She suffered leg and foot accidents that stored her out of competitors for 2 months.
In 2019, father John Lee suffered a catastrophic — and never unusual — damage with horrific penalties.
He fell off the ladder. The ensuing accidents resulted in paralysis from the chest down. It was a life-changing catastrophe.
John Lee’s dangerous fall occurred simply earlier than Suni competed within the nationwide championship sport in Kansas Metropolis.
Suni considers dropping out of college as a result of she fears her father might be injured after an accident. Nonetheless, he inspired her to go.
She did it and got here in second behind the legendary Simone Biles. When Suni gained gold on the uneven bars on the 2019 U.S. Championships (she suffered an damage herself), she devoted the victory to her father.
Though John Lee suffered a critical fall, he survived and is cheering for his daughter on the 2021 Olympics. Now it is the 2024 Olympics.
Suni Lee is aware of her father has not been shaken in his help for her by the accident.
Her entire household was proud when she competed in Paris. The identical goes for America as a complete.
