"All the feels today, onto finals!!" - Suni Lee expresses anticipation after impressive performance during qualification at the Paris Olympics

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Jul 29, 2024 05:31 GMT

Suni Lee expressed anticipation for the final events at the Paris Olympics after earning qualification in the team, all-around, balance beam, and uneven bars. She will have an opportunity to defend her all-around title, going head-to-head with the gold medal favorite Simone Biles.

Suni Lee made her senior debut in 2019, sweeping the team gold, floor exercise silver, and uneven bars bronze at the World Championships the same year. Her impressive string of achievements qualified her for the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she contributed scores in the qualification round to book a spot for Team USA in the finals, besides earning the individual all-around qualification.

In the team finals, Simone Biles withdrew due to 'twisties' and Lee replaced her on the floor. Her scores in the all-around totaled 57.433, which earned her an Olympic title. With her effort, she became the first woman of Asian descent to win the all-around title at the Games.

Now, Suni Lee is heading to her second all-around finals at the Olympics, after being placed with 56.132 behind Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade in the qualification round. She took to her Instagram to express anticipation for the upcoming events, while also feeling the Olympic thrill.

"allllll the feels today, onto finals!!" her caption read.

She posted a carousel of pictures, featuring her on the uneven bars and sharing a frame with her team. Besides the all-around qualification, Suni Lee also contributed scores for the US team's top finish (172.296). She is heading to the uneven bars and balance beam finals with a qualification score of 14.866 and 14.033, respectively.

Suni Lee was on the verge of quitting gymnastics because of her kidney issues

Suni Lee topped the all-around leaderboard at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. However, her Paris Olympic dreams look far-fetched when she was diagnosed with a kidney issue at the beginning of 2023. The year saw her withdraw from a couple of competitions until she made her return at the 2024 Winter Cup.

After qualifying second at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, Lee shared that making the team wasn't in her farthest thoughts since her body didn't cooperate. However, moving past the hardships and securing a spot in the Olympics marked an 'incredible journey'.

"There were so many times where I thought about quitting and just giving up because I was so sick, and it was just so hard to stay motivated... We didn’t think I would be here. So getting through all of those events and ... everything that we had to go through this week to get to where we are right now, it was just such a hard, incredible journey," Suni Lee said to Today.

Lee will next compete in the women's team final, slated for July 30, 2024, at the Paris Olympics.