When Suni Lee needed her teammates, her teammates were there for her.
And when her teammates needed Lee, she stepped up in the same winning way.
Before Lee and Team USA won gold in the Olympics team final on Tuesday in Paris, the gymnasts had an important conversation amid swelling nerves the night prior, they revealed in their post-meet press conference.
From left to right, Suni Lee, Simone Biles, Hezly Rivera celebrate after winning the gold medal during the women's artistic gymnastics team finals round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France.
Lee said it helped her a lot — all this following the tough times she’s had in the gap between the Tokyo Olympics and the Paris Olympics.
“It was really needed, honestly,” Lee opened up to the media.
Team USA’s starters Tuesday included Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Lee, all of whom started for Team USA in the team final in Tokyo in 2021.
The way Chiles recalled the conversation, a talk between her and Lee wasn’t going the way she wanted on Monday, the day before the team final, and she fetched the team’s eldest member Biles so they could have a team meeting.
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“We were laying down so I got up. I said, ‘Suni, I’m not doing this right now. We’re going to have this talk,’” Chiles said. “So I got Simone up. Because I was like, ‘I need backup! I don’t know how to do this. I’ve never done this before.’ But yeah, it was really good. It was really needed.”
The gymnasts didn’t share specifics on what was troubling them, but it’s been a tumultuous journey between Tokyo and Paris particularly for Lee.
Suni Lee, of the United States, performs on the floor during the women's artistic gymnastics team finals round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Tuesday, July 30, 2024, in Paris, France.
He sophomore season at Auburn was ended early by kidney illness, which threatened not just her college career but her entire gymnastics career. In a New York Times article published Monday, Lee or her coaches revealed that during her college career a stalker in his 40s or 50s had followed her from Minnesota trying to get to her in at least three different states.
Then her parents were quoted in the article saying they’d rather her be home than off competing. They’ve been absent from NBC’s look-ins with the athletes’ families: Her sister Shyenne has been there in Paris supporting her.
After all that, Lee neared the end of her long journey back to the Olympics earlier this week surely pounded by pressure.
“It’s really hard to be doing what we’re doing and it’s easier if we can lean on each other,” Biles said.
After winning team gold, Lee was all smiles — jumping for joy with her teammates holding the American flag out on the competition floor, and in the press conference with her teammates.
Jordan Chiles, of the United States, hugs Suni Lee, left, after winning gold during the women’s artistic gymnastics team finals round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics on Tuesday in Paris, France.
“I think it just helps me, at least, have a better understanding and just know that I can lean on them whenever I need it,” Lee said of the conversation. “It helped me a lot.”
The gymnasts became the fourth Team USA group to win gold in the team final. Biles won her second team gold, also winning gold at the Rio Olympics in 2016.
“I think we were all full of nerves, and we weren’t communicating with each other,” Biles said. “And if we saw somebody in practice, say, have a little bit of trouble, you ask if they’re OK, they say yes but you know that’s not really true. So we’re just really trying to support and lean on one another. So that’s really the nature of the conversation, just letting each other know that we can lean on each other because we’ve been there.”
