"I lost my whole childhood to gymnastics" - When Suni Lee opened up about sacrifice behind winning Tokyo Olympic gold ahead of Simone Biles

American gymnast Suni Lee once opened up about the sacrifices behind her successful campaign at the delayed 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she won the all-around gold medal over Simone Biles in an unpredicted fashion. This was also Lee's first appearance at the Olympics after her elite debut in 2019.

While 2016 all-around gold medalist, Biles decided to skip the all-around finals in Tokyo due to her mental health concerns (twisties), Lee stepped in for the USA and won the gold medal. She posted a score of 57.433 in the apparatus and finished ahead of other prominent gymnasts such as Rebeca Andrade.

In an interview in 2021, after this successful campaign, Lee shared that she didn't think of herself as an Olympic gold medalist and had a hard time believing in her achievement. Speaking about the sacrifices behind her success, Lee stated that she had to work very hard and devote her entire childhood to gymnastics, owing to which she also decided to join college. She said (via Olympics.com):

"I definitely don't see myself as an Olympic gold medallist. It's crazy to think that. I still have a hard time letting it sink in. Nobody expected me to win the gold medal. So when I did, my life turned overnight. I lost my whole childhood to gymnastics. Since I sacrificed all of that, I wanted to have the college experience and get what I couldn't have [in high school]."

After her Olympic experience, Suni Lee also competed in gymnastics events at the college level, where she won the national beam balance title three years ago (2022). Notably, she also helped her team, the Auburn Tigers, bag a fourth-place finish at the 2022 NCAA Championships.

Suni Lee explains how letting go of fear helped her succeed after her kidney disease

Lee in action during the most recent quadrennial games at the French capital (Image via: Getty)

Suni Lee recalled her journey before the 2024 US Olympics trials when she was initially recovering from her kidney disease and eventually went on to be in the national team and win medals.

In a recent interview, Lee said she had to stop her training sessions sometimes before the 2024 trials due to her kidney disease. Additionally, she also added that she had to push her capabilities and overcome her fears. She said (via Elle.com):

"Leading up to the 2024 Olympic trials when I battled a severe kidney disease, it forced me to stop training at possibly the worst moment. I had to let go of fear—fear of pain, of not being enough"

During the conversation, Suni Lee also mentioned that it is important for this generation of gymnasts to uphold a feeling of faith in themselves. Moreover, she also added that her never-to-say-die attitude helped her before last year's quadrennial games when she was advised not to compete again.