Simply qualifying for the Olympics is a remarkable feat.
This was the exact predicament U.S. gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee found herself in.
Lee takes her duty to represent her community seriously.
Suni Lee was one of those kids.
“She would start flipping outdoors at the park and things like that.”
Lee concurs, calling them “both like my parents.”
According toForbes, training and travel expenses for high-level gymnasts can cost up to $1,000 a month.
Fortunately, a huge community of supporters has had Lee’s back.
Then practice them some more and keep practicing, no matter what other temptations life may offer.
No one understands this better than Sunisa Lee.
Lee and her fans are no doubt happy and relieved that her efforts have paid off.
But John isn’t just another stage dad trying to live vicariously through his child.
So when the 2019 U.S.
However, John did not count on spending the championship in intensive care.
But from his hospital bed, John encouraged Sunisa to power through.
“She’s worked so hard for this,” John explained to KARE-11.
“I tell her don’t worry about me, just go and do well.”
So the cancellation of the games in 2020 was a frustrating blow.
“I went through a depressed phase, and it was hard to get out of.”
The last time Lee got to see them, according to Elle, was on Zoom.
“I fought off the negative thoughts and the sadness, and just focused.
Now I feel like I’m maybe tougher because of it.
No, not maybe.
I am tougher because of it.”
This was a happy surprise for Lee, who was still recovering from an ankle injury.
“I think that gives me a lot of confidence,” she revealed.
“I love them so much … We all keep in touch because we’re all going through a hard time now.
We like to talk with each other, and we’re always there for each other.”
“She was there for me,” Lee shared.
Unfortunately for Lee, like the Olympics, the Stuttgart Cup was also cancelled due to the pandemic.
But despite her enviable talent on the uneven bars, Lee considers it the hardest and most nerve-wracking event.
“It’s mentally and physically hard compared to the other events,” she told the Bleacher Report.
… You have to be really mentally strong from the beginning."
But that has changed as Lee has risen to the top ranks of her sport.
But her parents had absolutely no doubt in their minds she’d be competing in Tokyo.
Jess' twin brother, Jeff Graba, happens to be Auburn’s gymnastics coach.
“Suni had offers from pretty much every college so she could have gone anywhere,” Jess revealed.
But Lee’s long-term goal transcends gymnastics attending college had been a lifelong goal of hers.
