Olympic Gymnast Suni Lee Reveals Kidney Condition Is Forcing Her to Step Away From Gymnastics

By Brian Jones

Suni Lee just made a big announcement about her health and gymnastics career. The 20-year-old, who won a gold medal at the Toyko Olympics in 2021, went to Twitter on Monday to announce she is stepping away from the Auburn Tigers gymnastics team due to a kidney-related health issue she's been managing. 

"I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health related issue involving my kidneys," Lee said in the statement. "For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks. I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery.

"It's been a challenging end to my Auburn career early, but I am thankful for all the love [and] support. I will not stop pursuing my dreams for a bid to Paris in 2024. In fact, this experience has sharpened my vision for the future. I appreciated all the love and support and I want to especially thank my doctors, coaches and the Auburn medical staff for their care during this time." 

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Lee joined the Auburn gymnastics team last season and had the most decorated year in Auburn history. She earned eight All-America honors, one national championship and an SEC title while being named SEC Freshman of the Year. "We are immensely fortunate and blessed to have had Suni be a part of our team these last two years. It was an honor to coach a world-class athlete and it was rewarding to see her not only achieve a lot of her collegiate goals, but to watch her become a great teammate as well," Auburn head gymnastics coach Jeff Garba said in a statement, per CNN. 

"We strive to put our student-athletes' well-being ahead of athletic performance and in this case, we felt like we made the best decision for her health and future. We are so excited to cheer Suni on as she pursues another Olympic dream and can't wait to see what else is in store for her." Lee is a member of the U.S. women's national gymnastics team and is the first Hmong-American Olympian. She won a total of three medals at the Tokyo Olympics, including a gold medal in the all-around event.

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