"Thank you for being my dad, best friend and coach all in one" - Suni Lee pens heartfelt note to coach Jess Graba on his birthday

Olympic gold medalist and World Champion Suni Lee has trained with Jess Garba since she was 12 and shares a close bond with her coach. Recently, Lee celebrated his birthday with a heartwarming wish she shared with fans.

The American started gymnastics at a young age and trained with coach Punnarith Koy till she was twelve. She moved under Garba’s tutelage after that and has achieved immense success since. The coach-athlete duo have been together for over eight years now, and Suni Lee considers her coach an important figure in her life.

Taking to her Instagram story today, Lee wished her coach happy birthday, writing:

“Happy birthday, thank you for being my dad, best-friend, and coach all in one.”

Via Suni Lee's Instagram story

Jess Garba is equally invested in Suni Lee, claiming in an interview that they're more like a team rather than having a typical student-coach dynamic.

“I'm not the coach and she's (not) the athlete, we're a team. It's myself, and Ali, and Suni. We've done everything. The three of us have done everything together. It's Suni's journey,” he told FloGymnastics in 2021.

Suni Lee’s gymnastics career

Suni Lee began gymnastics as a seven-year-old and has never looked back. The American made her junior debut at 13 at the 2016 US Classic. She first made waves on the senior circuit in 2019, when she took home the all-around title at the City of Jesolo Trophy.

Despite 2019 being a year plagued with injuries, Suni still claimed gold in the uneven bars, silver in the all-around, and bronze on the floor at the US Championships. A few weeks later, Lee went on to win a silver and a bronze in the floor and uneven bars event at the Stuttgart World Championships. She also claimed gold in the team event.

After participating in no competitions in 2020 due to the pandemic and injuries, Suni had a strong start in 2021. She got the year going at the Winter Cup in February, where she finished first on the uneven bars and third in the beam. Next, she competed at the American Classic, where she claimed gold on both the bars and the beam.

At the 2021 US Championships, Lee won the uneven bars and placed second in the balance beam and all around. She finished her year by clinching a gold in the all-around, a bronze in the uneven bars, and a silver in the team at the Tokyo Olympics.