Suni Lee Calls Paris Olympics Her ‘Redemption Tour’ Amid Kidney Disease Battle

Gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee reflected on her inspirational experience at the 2024 Olympics in Paris amid her battle with kidney disease.

"This has been my redemption tour from the last Olympics, and I've been trying to give myself grace for not being, I guess fully back to normal Suni," she told People in an interview that was published on Tuesday, August 6. "But ever since I got sick, I feel like normal Suni is — she's just a different girl now."

Suni, 21, previously won gold in the women's individual all-around at the Tokyo games in 2021, as well as a bronze in the uneven bars and a silver team medal. After making her Olympics debut, Suni began her college career at Auburn University. However, her experience was unexpectedly cut short when she was diagnosed with two forms of incurable kidney disease in 2023.

"I'm more mature," she told the outlet about her most recent experience at the Olympics. " I have a lot more fun ."

The professional athlete then added that she made sure to have more fun for her second Olympics no matter how she performed. "I've just been taking in every single moment," she said, noting that she "had to overcome so much in the last couple of years, physically, mentally, anything."

"We love being together," Suni added about her teammates Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera . "We're such a great team, as you guys can tell, whenever we're out there, everything just clicks when we're together."

While Team USA won gold, Suni earned a bronze in the individual all-around and another bronze in the uneven bars.

Suni concluded the interview by stating she’s not sure if she will compete in another Olympics. However, she reflected on what a special experience the 2024 games have been.

"I think everything just means so much more because I didn't think that I would be here,” she said. “And just knowing that I was able to overcome everything and never gave up was probably the most special moment, I guess for me, in winning all of those medals."

Suni hasn’t revealed her exact diagnosis, though she previously told SELF magazine that her condition is “rare” and that her medical team believes that it could change.

“I just kept getting more swollen … and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds,” she told the outlet while detailing how she knew something was wrong. “I kept peeling off the bar. I couldn’t hold on. My fingers were so swollen.”

Her medical team initially thought she was experiencing an allergic reaction, though they had second guesses when she began experiencing hot flashes, cold spells, headaches and cramping. “I was just rotting in my bed. I couldn’t talk to anybody. I didn’t leave the house,” Suni told Sports Illustrated in June 2023.

She ultimately got more clear answers when Team USA Gymnastics physician Marcia Faustin suggested she take a urine test, which led Suni to admit she had been having trouble urinating for two weeks. After a biopsy was taken of her kidney tissue, Suni was put on regular medication to help manage her symptoms.