untitled design

Sunisa Lee, the 18-year-old gymnast who has won gold and honored her tragic past

Sunisa Lee won the gold medal in the general round of gymnastics at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games. The triumph marks the fifth victory for the United States delegation in this category during the last five Olympic Games.

The 18-year-old showed her talent in the women’s general round of gymnastics, taking the gold medal in addition to the silver that she and her team won during the round last Tuesday.

Although everyone was waiting for the possible return of Simone Biles, Sunisa, the first Miao-American Olympic athlete, was in first place with Rebeca Andrade, from the Brazilian delegation, in second place, and Angelina Mélnikova, from Russia, with the bronze medal .

This victory was more special, as the history of the Lee family has been long, difficult and complicated. Sunisa’s parents, John Lee and Yeev Thoj, were among the Miao refugees who had to emigrate to Thailand and then the United States after the 1975 Vietnam War.

Sunisa Lee

Most of the refugees could not find the American dream in the United States, since more than 60 percent of Miao live in extreme poverty or situations of risk. However, many of them created a safe community where Sunisa hails from.

They are incredible. They were all together watching the games, watching me win a gold medal. How I wish they could have been here. There are so many that they actually don’t fit in my house, so they went to the community center to see me, all together.

Sunisa Lee

The Miao community is made up of people who are always supportive of you, but hardly ever achieve their goals. I want all people to know that you never know what will happen in the end. Never give up, don’t give up on your dreams.

According to the athlete, one of the reasons why she decided to try harder was to have had to endure the loss of two of her uncles, who died due to covid-19. Furthermore, his father suffered a terrible accident in 2019, which left him paralyzed from the chest down.

Sunisa Lee and Simone Biles

Sunisa stated that this immense sadness was one of the main reasons for getting stronger and fighting negative thoughts. Her father was the one who guided her during the last days before appearing in the general round, advising her to be herself and put her heart to the test.

Although the eyes of the world are now on Sunisa, the new promise from the United States declared that Simone Biles was one of the teammates who supported her the most during this round and, although the famous athlete decided to withdraw from the games, she hopes to share more experiences together.

Source Link

You may also like

Get the latest

Stay Informed: Get the Latest Updates and Insights

 

Most popular