Suni Lee confirmed for the U. S Championships 2024 despite missing award ceremony at the American Classic

Tokyo 2020 all-around Olympic champion Suni Lee made her comeback at the American Classics 2024 after grappling with kidney issues. Lee missed the award ceremony for the American Classic which counts as disqualification according to FIG rules. However, luck favored Lee as she confirmed her place for the U.S. Championships 2024.

Suni Lee delivered a charismatic performance at the American Classic 2024 where she competed on vault and balance beam. She gave a stellar performance in her opening balance beam routine where she scored 14.300. Her next category was vault where she did a full-twisting Yurchenko in third rotation and gained a score of 13.250.

Her scores were good enough to get her qualified for the US Championships, however, Suni Lee not attending the American Classic awards created a doubt. According to the FIG Deduction Reminders, unauthorized absence of the athlete from the awards ceremony can lead to disqualification of the gymnast.

But Scott Bregman dropped the confirmation received by the USA Gymnastics. He took to his X account and shared the news stating,

"USAGym confirmed to me she (Suni Lee) is qualified to champs so no DQ."

The 21-year-old gymnast went through a lot of trials and tribulations lately because of her kidney issues. However, she finally returned to the arena and expressed to Olympics.com how was feeling.

"Healthwise, I'm doing really good right now. I’m in remission, so I’m feeling really good, and taking my time in the gym has been feeling amazing. All of my skills are coming back and I’m just working on consistency.”

Suni Lee's struggles with kidney issues

On April 3, 2023, Suni Lee took to her X account and announced that she would be temporarily stepping away from gymnastics because of a health problem. The real disease or the condition that Suni Lee was suffering from was never confirmed by the gymnast.

She announced that she is suffering from a "non-gymnastics health-related issue". This condition was the reason behind Lee ending her career at Auburn early.

"My focus at this time is my health and recovery, stated Lee. Its been challenging to end my Auburn career early, but I am thankful for all the love & support."

Lee spoke to The People about the trials and tribulations she faced during her kidney issues. She faced problems while handling the gymnastics equipment and along with this she also suffered from allergic reactions.

"I kept peeling off the bar, I couldn't hold on. My fingers were so swollen, and I couldn't even do a normal kip cast to handstand on bars."

Talking about the allergic reactions, she expressed,

"I just kept getting more swollen.. and I think I gained like, 40 pounds. It affected my whole body and how I looked and how I was feeling."

The gymnastics champion has undergone a lot of difficulties in the past year. However, Suni Lee has now made a comeback with the American Classics and the enthusiasts will be eager to witness her performance at the Paris Olympics 2024.