Two-time Olympic gold medalist Sunisa “Suni” Lee has shared a positive health update regarding her incurable kidney disease.
The 22-year-old gymnast announced her serious and potentially career-ending diagnosis in April 2023 — a year before she went on to win her second gold medal at the 2024 Paris Games. She won her first in Tokyo in 2021.
At the moment, however, Lee is “doing really good.”
“I mean, my body’s in remission right now,” she told The Independent at the Raising Cane’s New York Fashion Week Show on Wednesday. “So it’s really nice to just be feeling a little bit healthier and not having to worry about it.”
She credited the promising milestone to “not being as stressed, and not having to compete every single week.”
“But yeah, I’ve been feeling really good,” she added.
Asked which lifestyle adjustment was the most difficult to get used to following her diagnosis, Lee said: “Having to learn not to do gymnastics again, because I haven’t done it since the [Paris] Olympics.”
In March, the athlete opened up about her two rare kidney diseases, writing for Women’s Health that she had to “relearn everything.”
“My coaches and I worked hard to figure out how I could continue gymnastics while navigating my kidney disease; how to stay safe performing skills while my weight fluctuated with retained water and swelling,” she explained.
“On top of the physical challenges, I also had to face mental challenges. There were days when I was so frustrated that my body couldn’t do what it used to that I’d leave the gym in anger, determined to quit. Sometimes I wasn’t even sure I wanted to compete,” she admitted.
Lee told People last October that she wasn’t sure whether she would be competing in the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.
“I’m just living my life,” she said, after having recently relocated to New York City. “I’ve never really been without gymnastics, so this is completely brand new to me, and I’m still figuring out a routine and learning all the places, but it’s been really fun.”
In 2021, on the heels of her successful Tokyo Olympics, Lee appeared on the 30th season of Dancing with the Stars, where she and her partner Sasha Farber came in fifth place.
Later this month, her Team USA teammate Jordan Chiles will follow in her footsteps, competing in the new season alongside ballroom dancer Ezra Sosa.
“I know we’re all really excited for her, and it’s something she’s been wanting to do for a while,” Lee said of Chiles.
As for the advice she’d give to her fellow Olympian, Lee noted: “Just be confident. Honestly, though, I feel like she should be the one giving me advice.
“Like she’s so good at dancing already and being confident and just going out there, and she is always killing it,” she continued. “I would to just say to be herself. Like that’s what she already does, and I’m just excited to see it.”
Lee has won six Olympic medals in total, making her one of the most decorated American female artistic gymnasts. She’s claimed two golds — the 2020 Individual All-Around and the 2024 Team event — plus one silver and three bronze.
