Suni Lee gets second-straight bronze medal in uneven bars – NBC10 Philadelphia

Suni Lee’s Olympic journey – from gold medal winner to near retirement to podium mainstay – continues.

The United States gymnastics star captured her sixth Olympic medal by taking a second-straight bronze in the women’s uneven bars on Sunday at the 2024 Paris Olympics. In what is considered her top individual event, the 21-year-old received a score of 14.800.

Lee was the last of the eight gymnasts in the final to compete, needing a score higher than 14.766 to medal.

Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour won gold with a score of 15.700 and China’s Qiu Qiyuan took silver with a 15.500.

It was Lee’s third medal of the Paris Games, after helping Team USA win gold in the team final and and taking bronze in the all-around. Lee was the only American to compete in the uneven bars final, with 10-time Olympic medal winner Simone Biles failing to qualify by tenths of a point after placing ninth.

“I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it,” Lee told reporters after that bronze-medal win, “because I didn’t think that I could.”

Even though she had already done it once before.

Lee, at the Tokyo Olympics while 18 years old, took gold in the all-around after Simone Biles, the defending gold-medal winner, was forced to withdraw from the event. In Tokyo, Lee also was part of USA’s silver-medal winning unit in the team final and took bronze in the uneven bars.

Following the Tokyo Games, the newly-crowned Olympic champion contemplated retiring from gymnastics due to two kidney diseases that caused constant pain and nausea and made her weight fluctuate.

U.S. gymnast Suni Lee discusses overcoming kidney issues to medal at the Paris Olympics.

Lee called her coach to say she was done with the sport but was told to come to the gym to think it through. Lee reconsidered, continuing an arduous journey that ultimately would lead her to the Paris Olympics.

And back to the podium. 

Lee will compete in one final event at the Paris Olympics, the balance beam final on Monday, Aug. 5 at 9 a.m. ET/6 a.m. PT on NBC and Peacock.