Sunisa Lee Brings Home Olympic Gold For U.S. Gymnastics Team
This makes Sunisa Lee the fifth American woman in a row to win gold for all-around Olympic gymnastics.
After a tumultuous 48 hours, the USA Gymnastics Team has a new shining star. Sunisa Lee, an 18-year-old Hmong American from Minnesota, emerged as the all-around gymnastics champion at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Following a series of impressive performances, Lee received a score of 57.433, putting her just above Brazillian competitor Rebeca Andrade (57.298). This achievement makes Lee the fifth consecutive American athlete to win the women's gymnastics all-around gold medal, following her predecessors Simone Biles (2016), Gabby Douglas (2012), Nastia Liukin (2008), and Carly Patterson (2004). Lee is also the third American woman of color in a row to achieve this award.
The postponed 2020 Tokyo Olympic games have been a difficult one for the U.S. gymnastics team. Simone Biles, revered as the greatest female gymnast of all time, bowed out of the team finals and the individual all-around event as a whole out of concern for her mental health. Team USA was projected to win the team competition, but still managed to take home the silver medal; the ROC (Russian Olympic Committee) won gold.
Despite this unexpected blow, Lee pulled through and won the marquee individual event. She received the highest overall score on the uneven bars with a routine of the highest degree of difficulty. Lee's competitive scores in the other events—vault, floor, and balance beam—led her to Olympic victory.
"CONGRATS PRINCESS," Biles congratulated her teammate on Instagram. "Absolutely killed it!!! OLYMPIC CHAMPION RIGHT HERE !!! So so so beyond proud of you!!!!"
