Olympic Gymnast Suni Lee Reveals Her Kidney Disease Is Incurable

Suni Lee is sharing details about her health as she gets ready for the 2024 Olympics. Earlier this year, the 20-year-old gymnast was diagnosed with a kidney disease that forced her to cut her NCAA gymnastics season at Auburn University short. And in a new interview with SELF magazine, Lee opened up about her disease, which is incurable. 

"I just kept getting more swollen…and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds," Lee said, per PEOPLE. "It affected my whole body and how I looked and how I was feeling." Lee went on to say that she was worried about her gymnastics career.  "What if I'm never allowed to do gymnastics again or I can never make it to the Olympics again?" she said. 

Lee revealed that her illness began in February when she had swollen ankles, which then led to her entire body being swollen, including her face, legs and hands. Her coach suggested seeking advice from USA Gymnastics Women's National Team physician Dr. Faustin, who asked if she had done a urine test after undergoing multiple tests from doctors. The urine tests led to more testing, and Lee was sent to a specialist who recommended a kidney biopsy.

Lee revealed her diagnosis off the record to SELF and has decided to keep it private for now since her doctors believe the diagnosis could change upon more testing. Her doctors are currently working on a treatment plan. "How do I just randomly wake up one day swollen, and now I'm stuck with this condition for the rest of my life?" she said.

When it comes to her gymnastics future, Lee is worried her illness will prevent her from making a comeback. "I look at myself all the time in videos, and it makes me emotional because I'm just not the same athlete I was before," she stated. Lee made a name for herself in the 2020 Olympics (which took place in 2021), winning a gold medal in the all-around competition, a silver medal in team and a bronze in uneven bars. And as a competitor at Auburn Lee won the national title in the balance beam and earned runner-up in the all-round competition in 2022.