TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 29: Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Sunisa Lee of St. Paul has spent her entire life working for this moment. She started in gymnastics as highly energetic 6-year-old, and as she rapidly progressed through the sport, she started to set her sights on the Olympics.
And on Thursday, she became an Olympic gold medalist — and in the biggest event of all, the all-around competition, finishing with a final score of 57.433 points to edge Rebecca Andrade of Brazil for the title.
Sunisa Lee, of the United States, waits for the final results of the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
Sunisa Lee of Team United States competes on uneven bars during the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 29: Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images)
Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 29: Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 29: Sunisa Lee of Team United States competes on balance beam during the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Sunisa Lee, of the United States, performs on the uneven bars during the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
Sunisa Lee, of the United States, reacts after getting her score on the floor performs on the during the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)
TOKYO, JAPAN – JULY 29: Sunisa Lee of Team United States reacts during the Women’s All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)
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Sunisa Lee, of the United States, waits for the final results of the artistic gymnastics women’s all-around final at the 2020 Summer Olympics, Thursday, July 29, 2021, in Tokyo. (AP Photo/Gregory Bull)
That moment for 18-year-old Lee followed Tuesday’s performance, when she led the U.S. to a silver medal in the team competition after the American star Simone Biles withdrew from the meet.
She hails from St. Paul, the city with the largest concentration of Hmong in a metro area outside of Southeast Asia.
Her parents, John Lee and Yeev Thoj, are both immigrants from Laos. Even though John is not her biological father, Sunisa decided to take his last name.
She has five siblings — sisters Shyenne and Evionn, and brothers Jonah, Lucky and Noah.
Her father is paralyzed from the waist down. He fell from a ladder in the days leading up to 2019 U.S. Championships, the meet in which Sunisa first started to gain national attention with her performance.
She graduated from South St. Paul High School this year.
She trains at Midwest Gymnastics in Little Canada. She’s been coached by Jess Graba for much of the past decade.
Her routine on the uneven bars is widely regarded to be the most difficult in the world. That said, Lee lists balance beam as her favorite event on the USA Gymnastics website.
She will attend Auburn University in the fall and compete on the gymnastics team.
She is very active on social media with more than 400,000 followers on Instagram and nearly 150,000 followers on TikTok.
