The road to Paris has been a challenging one for the Tokyo Olympic all-around champion Suni Lee.

After making history in Tokyo as the first Hmong-American Olympian and the first Asian-American woman to win the Olympic all-around title, Lee headed to Auburn University where she made history as the first Olympic all-around champion to do collegiate gymnastics. At the 2022 NCAA Championships, Lee won the all-around silver, balance beam gold and helped the Auburn Tigers to a historic fourth-place finish. 

However, 2023 was a rocky year for Lee, who was diagnosed with an unspecified kidney condition that forced her to end her college career earlier than planned. Ever since the spring of 2023, Lee has been battling her way back to full strength - determined to keep her name in contention for Paris. 

Learn more about Lee's journey as she gears up for her second Olympic appearance. 

Suni Lee trains at Midwest Gymnastics under Jess Graba and Alison Lim. 

Suni Lee no longer competes at the collegiate level. After spending two seasons at Auburn University, she left in the spring of 2023 to focus on her health and prepare for the Paris Olympics. 

Shortly after winning a bronze medal on beam at the 2023 U.S. Championships, Suni Lee was invited to participate in the world selection camp but declined the invitation for health reasons. 

Suni Lee was diagnosed with a kidney condition in early 2023. In an interview with SELF magazine, Lee said she woke up one day with swollen ankles. The next day, her whole body was swollen, including her face, legs and hands. After several tests, Lee learned there was an issue with her kidneys, although she has not publicly shared her exact diagnosis.

Throughout the past year, Lee has been limited in training as she navigated doctors appointments and adjusted to a new medication regimen.

At the Team USA Media Summit, Lee reported she was in remission and feeling better. 

Suni Lee is currently competing on all four events. Due to her health issues, she slowly eased back into competition by not competing floor exercise until the U.S. Championships and continued to add difficulty to all of her routines through the Olympic Trials. 

Suni Lee has not shared her plans for after Paris. However, at the Team USA Media Summit she revealed there were times she struggled with motivation in the past and considered retiring from the sport.

"I had so many moments where I was like, 'I've been doing gymnastics for 17 years, I'm ready to move on,'" Lee said. "And then I'm like, 'No, I'm not! I can't leave gymnastics yet. I'm not done.' So there's that little thing that's just like, I want to prove to myself that I can do it. But yeah, of course, whenever I go on trips and brand trips I get a taste of reality, and I'm like, 'This is what my life is going to be like afterwards!' ... Once I got a taste of reality, it was like the hardest thing to stay motivated. But now I'm like, 'This is something that I really want.' I remind myself every single day." 

Suni Lee's first competition of the year was the 2024 Winter Cup, where she competed on the uneven bars and balance beam. At the competition, Lee attempted an original skill on the uneven bars - a full-twisting Jaeger - but fell. Lee also had a fall on beam and dismounted with a simple layout. 

"It obviously wasn't what I wanted, but in all honesty, I think that it's good that it happened here rather than somewhere else," Lee told reporters afterward.

Suni Lee competed on three events - vault, balance beam and floor exercise. It was the first time she competed on floor at the elite level since the Tokyo Olympics. Lee did not complete her full difficulty on vault (just a Yurchenko full) but shined on beam, where she debuted a new mount and posted a 14.500 to finish first in the event. 

The 2024 Xfinity U.S. Championships marked Suni Lee's return to all-around competition - her first time competing all four events since winning the all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics. Lee overcame a fall on vault on the second day of competition to finish fourth (55.750). Lee also finished second on beam and fourth on uneven bars. 

At the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials, Suni Lee competed upgraded routines on uneven bars and floor exercise to help her finish second to Simone Biles and earn a spot on her second Olympic team.