Fighting Incurable Kidney Disease, Suni Lee Gets Emotional Over Life After Gymnastics Success

Remember when USA’s women’s gymnastics team successfully pulled off their redemption tour in the Bercy Arena? For Suni Lee, it wasn’t just about chasing Olympic glory. It was about about overcoming an insurmountable challenge. In 2023, the gymnast had to deal with one of the biggest hurdles of her life. There used to be a time when she couldn’t even grip the uneven bars because her body was so swollen. The 21-year-old was severely ill.

Suni Lee Radiates Angelic Beauty in Brown Two-Piece for SI Swimsuit BTS Photos

The 21-year-old Olympic gymnast posed for Sports Illustrated Swimsuit earlier this month and the behind the shots are breathtaking.

All month long, Sports Illustrated Swimsuit has been excitedly announcing the first group of our 2025 magazine lineup, featuring a long list of incredible athletes. One of our first announced was Suni Lee, the two-time Olympic gold medalist who flew to Boca Raton, Fla. to be photographed by Ben Horton. While you’ll have to wait until next May to see her full spread of photos, we have released a few official images of Lee wearing a simple yet stunning brown two-piece by St. Agni.

The official images of Lee were simply flawless, so it should come as no surprise that the behind the scenes photos from her shoot day are just as beautiful. As we inch closer to the 2025 issue, we’re happy to share some BTS sneak peeks from the athlete’s shoots, including the former Auburn Tigers gymnastics team member. With the perfect Floridian sun and the mesmerizing blue pool water, Lee had the perfect backdrop to make her SI Swimsuit debut.

But of course, it’s her beauty—inside and out—that does all of the work. Enjoy seven exclusive BTS shots from Lee’s SI Swimsuit photo shoot below.

It’s no surprise that the SI Swimsuit community has embraced Lee’s introduction so well, with several fellow models showing support on the brand’s Instagram.

The gymnast, who made her Olympic debut at the 2020 Tokyo Games where she won gold, returned for the Paris Games this summer, where she won bronze and helped Team USA walk away with first place in women’s gymnastics. After being diagnosed with kidney disease—which forced her to end her college career early—Lee partnered with the American Kidney Fund on the organization’s Know Your Kidneys initiative. Clearly, Lee is a very busy woman, but she’s enjoying a bit of time off now that she’s relocated to New York City post-Olympics, and wants to focus on working with fashion and beauty brands.

Coping From Incurable Disease, Suni Lee Gets Emotional Amidst Gymnastics Break: “Never Giving Up”

For gymnasts, the window to make something out of their career choice is relatively smaller than most other athletes. But that was only one part of Suni Lee’s challenges. In 2021, the Auburn star reached the top of the sport when she won the All-Around gold in Tokyo. But life came crashing right after her triumph. But Lee didn’t let her kidney disease dictate her life.

Instead, Sunisa took control of her life and dreams and made a comeback in Paris this year, which will surely go down as one of the greatest returns to the limelight of all time. But thankfully, she had some shoulders to lean on and an unwavering support system that helped Lee maintain composure during her rough patch. And now, as the 2x Olympic champ takes a break from gymnastics, she can’t help but feel grateful for all those who stood by her at every step.

In her recent Instagram story, Suni Lee recalled what a rollercoaster of a ride 2024 has been for her. From deciding to sign up for the US Classic to going on to win team gold in Paris at the 33rd Olympic Games, the 21-year-old has had a year to remember, to say the least. Noting the same, Lee wrote on her IG update, “Being emotional but sitting in my apt thinking about everything I’ve been thru this year and I am SO PROUD OF MYSELF for never giving up.” She went on to express her gratitude: “I’m so blessed to be able to live this amazing life with the most amazing people surrounded by me.”

However, her uplifted spirit might have something to do with the festive season that will soon be upon us. In her previous IG story, the Olympian shared how she’s been organizing her quaint apartment and how she’s hitting the stores to make sure she has everything to celebrate the upcoming holidays. “Fav time of the year,” confessed Lee, and seemingly, that has given her a reason to sit back and reflect on how far she’s come in her life.

Right after her seminal career point in Japan three years ago, Lee was diagnosed with a rare kidney disease, which the doctors claimed could not be cured. Naturally, the news came as a blow to the guts, and Suni quit her NCAA season mid-way through 2023 to recover her health. However, she was determined not to let the setback take away her elite career as well, and she returned to action in August 2023 for the US Classic. And she hasn’t looked back since, as the City of Love stood to witness in 2024. But it seems like Lee’s hunger for life has only grown and she’s not afraid to tread on uncharted waters.

Suni Lee isn’t afraid to expand her horizons

Shortly after her successful Paris campaign, Lee made heads turn again. This time for the New York Fashion Week. But that wasn’t her only business in NYC. Deciding to give herself a break from all the action, Lee is setting up home at the Big Apple in New York and was understandably eager to show up at one of the most coveted fashion shows on the planet. “I’m excited for a new chapter, and happy I get to do it in New York. I moved a day before hitting the ground running for NYFW,” she told Vogues while also mentioning how she’s looking forward to doing daily errands like getting coffee and buying groceries.

Her love for fashion also spilled over to her work life, where she joined hands with LoveShackFancy to make ripples in the glam world as well. But that’s not all! With moving to New York, Lee also hopes to start her journey as a YouTube vlogger, as she intends to bring more BTS snippets from her life to her fans. Her hint about becoming a social media personality has Lee’s fans speculating when they’ll get to see her drop the first vlog. Are you among those fans waiting to see Suni’s next big adventure? Tell us your feelings in a comment!

USA Olympic Star Suni Lee Announced as SI Swimsuit’s Newest Athlete for 2025 Magazine

U.S. Olympic gymnast Suni Lee will take part in the 2025 Sports Illustrated Swimsuit edition, the magazine announced on Monday.

“We are thrilled to launch our shoot season for the 2025 issue with an extraordinary lineup of powerful female athletes,” SI Swimsuit editor-in-chief MJ Day said in a statement. “This remarkable group, featuring Olympic medalists, world champions, and record holders, embodies the next generation of all-stars poised to transform the world of sports. They defy stereotypes and champion equality, inspiring young girls to envision themselves as both athletes and leaders. At SI Swimsuit, we’ve always celebrated the future of women, and there’s no better way to honor these remarkable achievements than by featuring them on the pages of our issue.”

The Olympic gymnast has had an exciting comeback, and it didn’t stop at the Olympics.

Olympics gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee is having a hell of a comeback year, and meeting another powerful woman has made it all the more exciting.

Tonight, at Glamour Magazine’s Women of the Year Awards — where she was one of the women given the honor — Lee met Beyoncé, and to say that she was fangirling would be an understatement. In a clip taken from the awards ceremony, Lee and Bey are seen chatting, and Lee can barely keep her composure. The words exchanged in the conversation are unclear, but it sounds like the conversation was fulfilling for both ladies.

Shortly after, the two posed for a photo shared to Lee’s Instagram Story. Lee was wearing a glimmering silver long-sleeved dress, will Bey was wearing a fabulous shirt-and-long-skirt combo, cinched with a large belt.