Suni Lee and Simone Biles are making Olympic history. As two highly decorated gymnasts, Suni, 21, and Simone, 27, have been praised for their individual performances throughout their careers. Now that they’ve returned for Team USA again at the Paris Olympics this year, the athletes will be the first All-Around champions to compete in the same final together.
During the Tokyo games in 2021, Suni took home the All-Around medal after Simone withdrew from the competition due to suffering from the “twisties.” During the 2016 Rio Olympics, Simone was the All-Around winner.
Although physical health is a general priority for athletes, both Simone and Suni have helped build a new legacy when it comes to mental health. In her new Netflix docuseries, Simone Biles: Rising, Simone discussed how she was able to return to training after facing cruel criticism for stepping down from the women’s gymnastics competition in 2021.
“People just like put you on these pedestals, and I’m just like begging to be human,” Simone — who has been named the GOAT of gymnastics — pointed out in the series. “You can only silence the noise for so long until it gets to you.”
As for Suni, the former Auburn University gymnast was diagnosed with two forms of kidney disease. She had to temporarily leave the sport but was dedicated to make her Olympic return.
While speaking with E! News during a recent interview, Suni pointed out that she’s been “focusing on what’s in front of me and not what’s ahead of me because, otherwise, I’m going to get so nervous and probably have a mental breakdown.”
As for how she has managed her lifestyle changes, Suni noted that she goes to therapy, which has “been the biggest game changer because there was a lot of self-doubt in there and a lot of pressure and a lot of not knowing where it all stemmed from.”
“So, to be able to talk about it, speak about it and know that it’s OK to not be OK, it’s a great feeling,” she added. “I would give myself a medal for not giving up. There has been so much that I could have given up on and so many things that have happened to where I could have just put this aside and moved on with my life. But I wanted better for myself and I also wanted to be able to walk away from this Olympics or this quad knowing that I gave everything that I had and not regret anything.”