When did Sunisa Lee start Gymnastics?

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Sunisa Lee is a professional American artistic gymnast. She was born on March 9, 2003, and is already a highly decorated and influential sportsperson. Lee was named the Female Athlete of the Year in 2021 by Sports Illustrated and was also included in the list of Time’s 100 Most Influential People in the World. Lee has won two gold medals at the Olympics - first at Tokyo and then again at Paris in 2024.

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She is the first Hmong American to ever compete at the Olympics and the first-ever woman of Asian descent to win the Olympic gold in the All-Around category. Besides the two golds, she has also won a silver and a bronze at the Olympics, winning all three medals once at the World Gymnastics Championships.

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Sunisa Lee's Early Gymnastics Career

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Sunisa Lee began gymnastics after attaining the age of six. She used to watch former Olympic medalists Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson on YouTube and was inspired to try the sport. Her real name is Sunisa Phabsomphou, and was raised by her mother Yeev Thoj, a healthcare worker, and her step-father John Lee. When Lee developed an interest in gymnastics, John built a balance beam for her to practice on.

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Lee began doing backflips outdoors, and her passion was evident to her parents. She was registered for training in Little Canada, Minnesota. As per Lee, she got involved in gymnastics because it was fun, and she liked to do flips. After a few years of training, Lee turned elite at the age of 11, and the rest is history.

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Sunisa Lee's Diet

Sunisa Lee’s diet usually begins with vanilla protein powder, eggs, and sausage. She also takes a strawberry banana smoothie as her breakfast and then begins her workout. Lee prefers a protein-based lunch like a quinoa bowl or a salad. Lee also prefers to have snacks throughout the day like protein wafers, cheese sticks, banana chips, almonds, pita chips, and hummus. For her dinner, Sunisa prefers to have green vegetables and steak.

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In 2023, she was diagnosed with kidney disease, which was reported to be incurable. Therefore, Lee places good emphasis on her health and diet. However, she loves Pizza and has it almost every day. Lee particularly loves the food her mother makes, as she is the best cook in the family. Sunisa also focuses on a good sleep schedule and tries to make it to bed by 11.