Sunisa Lee Becomes First Hmong American to Win Individual Olympic Gold

Gymnast Sunisa Lee won the individual all-around competition in Tokyo on Tuesday, becoming the first Asian-American Olympic all-around champion ever.

Lee hails from St. Paul, Minnesota and is of Hmong descent. Last Tuesday, Lee helped propel Team USA gymnastics to a silver medal, stepping in to compete in the floor event for Simone Biles, after she pulled herself out of competition to focus on her mental health.

Lee secured the individual gold with a score of 57.433, 0.135 points ahead of Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, despite trailing her initially. It was Lee’s turn on the uneven bars that helped her secure the win, as she notched a 15.3, which put her only 0.066 behind Andrade. It was Lee’s beam routine that moved her into first place.

Naturally, Lee’s teammates were in the stands cheering her on the whole way through.



Simone Biles and Team USA in the stands supporting Suni Lee and Jade Carey pic.twitter.com/fuH1JxKPqr

— ESPN (@espn) July 29, 2021

Lee’s win was extra emotional for her family, who couldn’t be in Tokyo to support their daughter. Days before the national championships in 2019, Lee’s father was partially paralyzed after falling off a ladder while cutting down a tree.

Of course, they watched her from afar, and went absolutely wild when she won. Watch that reaction below:



Crowd reacts as Suni Lee appear to win the all around pic.twitter.com/5dudS51PPt

— Peter Cox (@peterncox) July 29, 2021

Lee’s win also solidifies a US dynasty in the Olympic event. For the last five Olympics, the gymnastics all-around champion has been an American, starting with Carly Patterson in 2004.