Getty Suni Lee competes on the uneven bars during the Women's competition of the 2021 U.S. Gymnastics Olympic Trials at America’s Center on June 27, 2021 in St Louis, Missouri.
Sunisa Lee’s dad suffers from partial paralysis after a tree trimming accident in 2019. Houa John Lee is one of his daughter’s biggest supporters, and built her a balance beam in their back yard.
USA Today called Lee “a rising star.” Her routine on the uneven bars is one of the most difficult in the world, the article said. The 18-year-old Minnesota resident is the youngest on Team USA.
“Lee’s consistency will make her scores essential to bringing home a team gold, and she also has a chance to qualify for the all-around competition,” USA Today reported.
Lee won a bronze medal in the uneven bars and will face off against Simone Biles in the balance beam.
Here’s what you need to know:
Suni Lee’s Dad Was a Refugee in Laos & Fled to Thailand As a Young Boy
dreams turning into a reality🤞🏼💕
Both of Suni Lee’s parents were refugees from Laos, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune.
Suni Lee is the first Hmong-American to represent the United States at the Olympic games, and her ethnic heritage is important to her community.
“Within her community, Lee is viewed as an ambassador and role model,” the article said. “As an Olympian, she represents the dreams the Hmong carried with them starting in the late 1970s, when many sought refuge in the U.S. after the Vietnam War.”
Hmong fought alongside American troops in Laos, and tens of thousands of them were killed in war or killed by the Lao government after United States’ troops withdrew, the article said. Suni Lee’s parents, Houa John Lee and Yeev Thoj, were young children at the time, and fled the country with their families to refugee camps in Thailand after making a dangerous trek across the Mekong River, the article said.
“When the U.S. pulled out of Laos, the war wasn’t over,” John Lee told the newspaper. “People had to go to Thailand for their safety, and for a chance to have a better life.”
Many members of the Hmong community settled in Minnesota, including Lee’s parents and other members of her extended family, the article said.
John Lee Fell From a Tree in 2019 & Suffered a Spinal Injury That Left Him Partially Paralyzed
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Good luck in the Olympics!
In 2019, John Lee was trimming a neighbor’s tree branches when he fell, suffering a spinal cord injury, fractured ribs and a broken wrist, according to the Star Tribune. He had a lengthy hospital stay following the accident and remains partially paralyzed, the article said.
Sunisa Lee’s dad was an early supporter of his daughter’s ambitions, according to the Minneapolis Star Tribune. Her parents signed her up for gymnastics when she was 6, the article said, seeking an outlet for her energy. She would often tumble and flip around their yard, they told the Star Tribune.
Her aunt, Cecelia Lee, told the newspaper it was “a little bit surreal” that her niece would be in the Olympics. She “recalled watching a much younger Suni in the same backyard, swinging from the metal bars holding the clotheslines and practicing on a wooden balance beam crafted by her dad,” the article said.
Her dad gives her a pep talk before every competition, the article said. Even if he is not there, he is sure to share words of encouragement over FaceTime. Her mother, though, gets so nervous she can’t watch, she told the newspaper.
“I get so nervous,” Yeev Thoj told the newspaper. “My heart beats so fast. At the Olympic trials, she did so well, I was in tears every time she finished an event.”
READ NEXT: Sunisa Lee Ethnicity: US Gymnast Makes History as Hmong American
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Sunisa Lee’s Dad John Was Paralyzed in a 2019 Accident