What Happened To Suni Lee? Health & Disease Explained

With the Olympics set to commence soon, many are curious about what happened to Suni Lee. The American gymnast will be returning to the Olympics at the 2024 Paris Olympic Games this year. However, after winning the gold at the women’s all-around event back in 2021, she has faced many challenges regarding her health.

As Suni Lee has once again made it to the US Olympic gymnastics team, many fans are curious to know more about her journey with her illness.

What happened to Suni Lee?

In March 2023, Suni Lee was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease.

After winning gold at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Suni Lee faced a few health issues. In March 2023, she observed swellings all over her body, which were first identified as an allergic reaction. However, as per Sports Illustrated, the doctors ran a few more tests and diagnosed her with an incurable kidney disease. Lee did not reveal the details of the disease, and soon, she had to leave school to focus on her health.

Suni explained to E! News how the disease and its symptoms “took her out for a few months.” However, kidney disease did not stop her from wanting to get back to training. When she later received approval to train, Suni trained with modified workouts. “I’ve been doing a lot of physical therapy and trying to keep my body as healthy as possible and feeling good because it’s gonna be a really long season,” she said.

Lee has now made it to the US Gymnastics Olympic team and will be participating in the 2024 Paris Olympics. At the Team USA Media Summit, Suni Lee spoke about her recent journey of preparing for the trials. “I feel so much better. I’m like, ‘I’m way better already than I was at the last Olympics.’ And I didn’t even think that I could get better than that. So that gives me a little more comfort and knowing that anything that I put my mind to, I can accomplish,” she mentioned.

What disease does she have?

Suni Lee did not reveal the name of her rare, incurable kidney disease.

As her condition could change over time, Suni Lee chose not to reveal the details about her kidney disease. However, she did reveal her symptoms to Self as mentioned in their cover story. She revealed that her symptoms include headaches, cramps, cold spells, and hot flashes.

Even after facing many challenges, with her health problems preventing her from pursuing her athletic passion, fans will see Suni Lee as part of the US Olympic Gymnastics team for the second time at the 2024 Paris Olympics.