All eyes are on Suni Lee as she aims to qualify for her second Olympic Games. It's a tall order for any athlete, never mind one who has encountered debilitating health challenges over the last year.
“My doctor was telling me he didn’t think I’d be able to do gymnastics ever again,” Lee recently told reporters at the Team USA Media Summit. “So to even be here is an accomplishment in itself. And I’m super proud of myself.”
Less than a year after she won big at the 2021 Olympics, Lee announced that she would be making a run for the 2024 Paris Games. Her route to the Olympics became more complicated when she was diagnosed with an incurable kidney disease.
After a temporary pause to focus on her health, Lee returned to training, determined to qualify for her spot on Team USA.
"This comeback was so much more than my return to elite gymnastics. It was me proving to myself that I can overcome hard things, and to hopefully inspire others to never let life’s setbacks stop you from going after your dreams," she wrote on Instagram in 2023.
As we count down to the Paris Olympics and continue to follow Lee's path to Team USA, here's a look back at everything she has shared about her physical and mental health journey over the last few years.
Suni Lee has an incurable kidney disease
Lee shocked her fans in 2023 when she announced that she was retiring from college gymnastics early to handle a health matter.
“I have been dealing with a non-gymnastics health related issue involving my kidneys. For my safety, the medical team did not clear me to train and compete over the last few weeks,” the then-20-year-old wrote on Twitter at the time. “I am blessed and thankful to be working with the best specialized medical team to treat and manage my diagnosis. My focus at this time is my health and recovery.”
She was diagnosed in 2023
It all started in February 2023 when the gymnast started experiencing abnormal swelling all over her body — in her ankles, face, hands and legs.
Lee told Self that her doctors ruled out an allergic reaction when the swelling remained after two weeks.
“I just kept getting more swollen…and I think I gained, like, 40 pounds,” she said.
After several rounds of tests, doctors discovered that Lee had a rare, incurable kidney condition. They would later discover that she had not one, but two forms of kidney disease, per Sports Illustrated.
Shortly after her symptoms started to appear, Lee left school to focus on her health.
She modified her training to accommodate her condition
While chatting with E! News in March 2024, Lee revealed that her kidney disease forced her to press pause for a few months. As a result, she “got a lot weaker.”
When she was later approved to start training again, Lee had to modify her workouts and started doing physical therapy.
“My coaches have never had to deal with someone who has had two kidney diseases,” Lee said at the Team USA Media Summit in April 2024. “And obviously, I’m like, ‘Okay, I don’t know any other gymnasts that have two kidney diseases that have had to go through this.’ So it’s all a learning process. And we’re taking it day by day.”
Things started to improve in January 2024
Lee told Sports Illustrated that she got a call from her doctor in January 2024 that changed everything.
“That’s when she started saying, ‘I think they’re getting a handle on it,’ ” her trainer Jess Graba told the publication. “‘I’m feeling a lot better. The doctor just called me yesterday and told me that they think they can knock down some of the medications. So I’m feeling like maybe I want to try.’”
Her condition is in remission now
While speaking at the Team USA Media Summit, Lee said her condition is in remission and she’s almost back to her normal training schedule.
“Right now (my routines are) still a little modified,” she said. “I think I’m at a good spot, though. I don’t want to peak too early. So it feels normal. I feel like I’m going at a good pace. I’m getting all my routines back and working on consistency.”
The Olympic medalist says she feels “so much better” these days and has even upped her gymnastics game.
“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 said.
What is incurable kidney disease?
Lee has declined to shared the name of her rare, incurable condition since it could change over time. However, she has described many of her symptoms, including swelling, cramping, headaches, hot flashes and cold spells.
Per the Cleveland Clinic, chronic kidney disease (CKD) occurs when your kidneys stop working as they’re supposed to due to damage. Since kidneys work as filters and remove toxins from the body, waste “builds up in your blood” when you have CKD.
“Kidney disease is called ‘chronic’ because kidney function slowly decreases over time. CKD can lead tokidney failure, which is also called end-stage kidney disease. Not everyone with CKD will develop kidney failure, but the disease will often worsen without treatment,” the website reads.
The incurable condition has five stages and can be managed with dialysis or transplant in its late stages.
What are the causes and symptoms of chronic kidney disease?
Common causes of chronic kidney disease include high blood pressure, diabetes, lupus, family history and other disorders. The rare condition only affects around 15% of adults in the U.S.
Symptoms include, but may not be limited to:
- More frequent urination and/or foamy or bubbly urine
- Swelling of feet, ankles and hands
- Trouble sleeping and/or concentrating
- High blood pressure
- Loss of appetite
- Fatigue and weakness
- Numbness
- Shortness of breath
- Dry, itchy skin
- Puffy eyes
- Muscle cramps
- Nausea
What are the side effects of chronic kidney disease?
Over time, CKD can lead to a number of complications, including anemia, gout, brittle bones, high blood pressure, nerve damage, swelling, weakened immune system, high potassium and heart disease, per the Cleveland Clinic.
She has eczema
At a young age, Lee started noticing that her skin was red, itchy and “always uncomfortable,” per PopSugar. When over the counter products failed to address her symptoms, the young gymnast sought out an official diagnosis.
Lee soon discovered that she had eczema, a condition that's characterized by dry, itchy and bumpy skin.
"Eczema is a type ofdermatitis. Dermatitis is a group of conditions that cause skin inflammation," according to the Cleveland Clinic.
There are multiple forms of eczema and symptoms typically manifest in childhood then "last into adulthood," though it can "affect anyone at any age."
At one time, Lee's eczema was "really bad" on her legs, arms and behind her neck and was "swollen and inflamed," per PopSugar.
“It made me not want to be seen anywhere because I knew people were looking at it because it was so inflamed. It has definitely taken a hit to my security levels when I’m competing, because it feels like people are looking at me,” she explained.
When she landed a spot on the 2021 U.S. Olympics teams, Lee was worried that her eczema would be on display for everyone to see.
“It was something that I felt ashamed of, being in a leotard and competing for Team USA,” she recalled. “Our skin is very exposed, cameras are always on us, people are always taking pictures, and it’s hard when you’re kind of ashamed to be looking at your own body or your skin because you can see that it’s rough or flaky.”
With the help of her doctors and dermatologists, Lee now has a handle on her eczema and she believes the condition isn't “something to be ashamed or embarrassed about.”
Everyone has different eczema triggers, including foods, fabrics, weather, soaps, makeup and more. For Lee, she said she's particularly affected by stress.
“I get the worst stress eczema flare-ups,” she said. “At the 2021 Olympics, I was having a flare-up on my neck that I thankfully got handled right before the competition. But it happens a lot when I’m stressed and I can’t sleep. I get really bad flare-ups. So then I’m constantly itching and uncomfortable.”
She's been outspoken about mental health
Similar to her friend and teammate Simone Biles, Lee has been open about the mental health challenges that come along with being a gymnast in the public eye.
“I talk to and listen to a bunch of other athletes, and I’m constantly trying to hear and understand how some people do the things they do,” she told PopSugar. “And it’s been so helpful because I was scared to talk about it for a long time, but when Simone and other athletes started talking about it, it made me feel more comfortable.”
Here are a few mental health topics Lee has discussed publicly and the self care methods she uses to focus on wellness.
She's experienced imposter syndrome and anxiety attacks
After winning big at the 2021 Olympics, Lee was on cloud nine. But feelings of elation soon turned into doubt and anxiety.
“I feel like after the Olympics, there’s just been so much doubt in like, ‘Oh, she shouldn’t have won Olympics, blah, blah, blah,’ and it really hits my soul,” she told ESPN in 2022.
Over time, Lee began to believe that she "didn't deserve to win" and said she began to experience "imposter syndrome."
"It was very hard for me to motivate myself the first couple of weeks (when I began college) because it was like I didn’t want to do gymnastics, I hated it,” she continued.
Lee said she was "a wreck" at her first few college gymnastics meets and experienced "anxiety attacks."
She tries not to put too much pressure on herself
Lee set the bar pretty high at her last Olympics, so she's certainly been feeling the pressure to perform at the same level or even better at the 2024 games. However, she tries her best to put it all into perspective.
“There was no pressure behind it besides the pressure that I put on myself,” she told Women’s Health.
Lee can't help but put pressure on herself, but said it's something she's "trying to work on just for myself because obviously, it’s not good for my mental health.”
She goes to therapy
One of the many reasons Lee works with a therapist is to get an outside perspective on matters that may be troubling her.
“It’s always good to have the outside help and just to be able to talk to somebody that doesn’t really know what’s going on,” she told Women’s Health.
She enjoys journaling
When the pressure is on before a gymnastics competition, Lee likes to process her feelings by journaling.
“It has been something that is both therapeutic and so incredibly helpful in my preparation for meets,” she told Women's Health.
A self-described "very private person," Lee is the first to admit that she doesn't "share how I totally feel all the time." While talking with PopSugar, she described why she prefers writing down her feelings.
"I write down my ‘whys,’ my goals, my keywords, and I visualize a lot during my routines because it’s important to remember them when you’re out there and nervous and trying to block everything out," she said.
Chrissy Callahan
Chrissy Callahan covers a range of topics for TODAY.com, including fashion, beauty, pop culture and food. In her free time, she enjoys traveling, watching bad reality TV and consuming copious amounts of cookiedough.
