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Eighteen-year-old Hmong-American Sunisa Lee recently took the world by shock when she won the gold medal at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.
Lee’s life has always been harder to navigate, something that many teenagers of immigrated parents can relate to. Everything she trained for was for those in her community who had shared those experiences and everything her parents had worked for. They escaped the war zones of the Vietnam War and headed to America for their family’s safety. Lee was put into gymnastics at the young age of 6 by her father, who now struggles with severe spinal cord injuries. She was born into hard work and dedication and went on to prove that to the world.
As news broke out that Simone Biles had stepped down from competing in the Olympics due to mental health reasons, Lee saw her opportunity and took advantage of it. She knew it was her chance to take the gold medal this year. Any person would’ve been stunned to have had this experience, let alone a recent high school graduate. She set records, being the first Hmong-American woman to represent the United States in the Olympic games. A humble model for little girls around the world, Lee proved what can come with hard work and passion.
After the Olympics, Lee headed to Auburn University, her childhood dream school that she verbally committed to at the age of 14. While still competing in college, she is eager to have a normal college life.
"I think I just wanted to have a real college experience and to be able to have fun," Lee stated. “Not saying I don’t have fun now, but being an elite gymnast is so limited because you’re always in the gym, and that’s all I focus on. I’m already not, like, a normal teenager; I don’t go to football games and all that stuff, but when I get to college, it feels like it’s going to be so much more fun, I guess, and like, free.” One can not only appreciate her passion, but also sense her balance, quite literally. Her life was put in the spotlight in a matter of days, but she craves that sense of normalcy. Lee is a teenager who still has a lot to learn, especially in her recent uprising, but it is comforting to see a gold Olympic medalist on your Tik Tok For You Page simply having fun.
Lee is the top gymnast in the all-around at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics — many were depending on her to carry us through this — and as nerve-rattling that is, she handled it with grace. She is no stranger to working under pressure, so she carried along. Her family could not be with her during the medal ceremony, and she could not visit them in Laos after the Olympics either, so she decided to FaceTime them before she won the gold medal. Afterwards, Lee and her father cheered that they did it and cried together, which was a heartwarming moment. They had accomplished it, even with all the struggles and the hardships.
References
Goldberg, Melissa. “U.S. Olympic Gymnast Sunisa Lee Continues Winning Streak with a Bronze on the Uneven Bars.” Oprah Daily, 2 Aug. 2021, www.oprahdaily.com/entertainment/a37115083/who-is-sunisa-lee/.
Macur, Juliet. “Sunisa Lee Seizes the Moment and Captures Gold.” The New York Times, The New York Times, 29 July 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/sports/olympics/sunisa-lee-gymnastics-olympics.html.