"Really scary"- Suni Lee makes heartbreaking confession about being diagnosed with Kidney disease a year before the Paris Olympics

By Adityan Pillai

Modified Nov 04, 2024 03:00 GMT

Suni Lee spoke about being diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease a year before the Paris Olympics. The Olympic gold medalist revealed how the diagnosis was pretty unprecedented, as she always believed that she was healthy.

The diagnosis had a profound impact on her professional as well as NCAA gymnastics career. Lee sent shock waves in the gymnastics community in 2023 after she announced that she would be ending her collegiate career due to health-related matters. It was later revealed that Lee was diagnosed with a kidney disease, which made her very weak, and was advised by doctors to take a break from training.

Suni Lee returned to the gym months later, keeping the Paris Olympics in foresight, and her team had to make several modifications to her training routine. The Olympic gold medalist spoke about the moment she received the news of being diagnosed with a kidney disease in an interview with Fox News Chicago.

Lee appeared on the show as she teamed up with the American Kidney Fund to raise awareness about the risks of kidney diseases.

"It was very difficult. I mean always thought that I was super healthy so waking up one day not really knowing what was going on was really scary and of course not being able to do the one thing I love which was gymnastics at that time. It was really difficult because, at that time, I was in college as well so I was away from my family, I didn't have my regular doctors and just had to find like the right healthcare team and support system was really important to me."

---

Suni Lee on her training with the health condition and qualifying for the Paris Olympics

Suni Lee competing in Artistic Gymnastics at the Olympic Games in Paris 2024: Day 6 - Source: Getty

Suni Lee spoke about returning to the gym after her diagnosis with an incurable kidney ailment in an interview with E! News. The gymnast revealed how her coaches had changed her training routines and it was the first time that her coach had encountered such a situation.

“My coaches have never had to deal with someone who has had two kidney diseases. And obviously, I’m like, ‘OK, I don’t know any other gymnasts that have two kidney diseases that have had to go through this.’ So it’s all a learning process. And we’re taking it day by day.”

After qualifying for the Paris Olympics, Lee took to Instagram to share a heartfelt note and wrote:

“This comeback was so much more than my return to elite gymnastics. It was me proving to myself that I can overcome hard things, and to hopefully inspire others to never let life’s setbacks stop you from going after your dreams."

Furthermore, she wanted her journey to stand as a testament to those people who were undergoing hardships and were aiming to make a comeback.