Where is Sunisa Lee from?

Last Modified Jul 29, 2024 00:13 IST
Where is Sunisa Lee from
Sunisa Lee (Source: Getty Images)

The three-time Olympic medalist, Sunisa Lee, is an artistic gymnast, born on March 9, 2003. She is the 2019 World Championship silver medalist on the floor, the bronze medalist on uneven bars, and the 2020 Olympic all-around champion. Further, she also won the gold medal at the 2019 World Championship and a silver medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics in team events.

As the tenth most decorated female gymnast in American history, Lee has won six Olympic and world championship medals in gymnastics. She was also a six-time member of the U.S. women's national team. She was included in Time's annual list of the 100 most influential people in the world in 2021, along with being named Female Athlete of the Year by Sports Illustrated.

Sunisa Lee’s Nationality

Sunisa Lee is from Saint Paul, Minnesota, and her nationality is American. In the all-around competition at the 2021 U.S. National Championships, Lee came in second place behind Simone Biles.

Both Biles and Lee automatically qualified for the Tokyo Olympic Games after the same result in the all-around at the subsequent U.S. Olympic trials. But Biles pulled out of most of the events in Tokyo because she was having "twisties," a mental block that causes gymnasts to lose their sense of spatial awareness during aerial maneuvers.

Following Biles' withdrawal from the women's team final, Lee, together with teammates Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles, came back to win the silver medal. Lee proceeded to win the gold medal in the all-around category, just edging out Brazilian Rebeca Andrade. Lee completed her medal tally in Tokyo by winning bronze in the uneven bars apparatus final.

At the 2023 U.S. National Championships, Lee participated and took home a bronze in the balance beam. She did, however, decide not to go to the World Championships later that year since she was still having kidney problems. Lee qualified for the American Olympic team to compete at the Paris Games in 2024 after putting on a great performance at the U.S. Olympic trials.

Read more About:- Sunisa Lee Ethnicity

Sunisa Lee’s Hometown

Sunisa Lee was born and raised in Saint Paul, Minnesota, in the United States. Her birth name was “Sunisa Phabsomphou.” Lee's mother, Yeev Thoj, is a refugee who migrated to the US as a young girl from Laos. Yeev's long-term partner, John Lee, raised Sunisa from the age of two, though he's not her biological father.

Lee considers John her father and thus took his surname as a teenager. She also has three half-siblings and two children of her own from a past relationship. One of her sisters, Evionn, is also an artistic gymnast and has participated in regional-level events.

At the age of six, Lee's stepfather constructed a mattress-based balancing beam for her after she saw videos of Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson on YouTube. This sparked Lee's interest in gymnastics. Following this, her parents signed her up for gymnastics lessons at the Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota, where teacher Punnarith Koy began instructing her.

The following year, Lee started competing and took home the all-around title at a state meet. She advanced three levels at age eight, and at age eleven, she qualified for elite. Before Jess Graba took over as Lee's coach at the age of twelve, Koy coached her from the age of six.

FAQ's On Sunisa Lee Hometown

A. Sunisa Lee is a three-time Olympic medalist and multiple World Championships winner.

A. Yes, Sunisa Lee has qualified for the 2024 Paris Olympics.

A. Sunisa Lee has won a silver medal for the uneven bars, silver as a team, and gold as all-round, at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

A. Sunisa Lee is coached by Jess Graba as of July 2024.

A. Sunisa Lee stands five feet or 152 cm., tall. 

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