US Gymnast Suni Lee Reveals How Second Kidney Disease Came as a Blessing in Disguise

Last year, gymnastics spectators were left disheartened as Suni Lee made the tough decision to cut short her collegiate artistic gymnastics career. At that moment, tears welled in everyone’s eyes, but the severity of her medical condition remained a mystery to the public. It wasn’t until April 2023, that Lee disclosed the full extent of her kidney issue.

In an exclusive interview with Olympics.com, she revealed, “My eyes were swollen shut. It was just so scary… In the beginning, it was like I was waking up swollen. My whole body was swollen because I was retaining water, so I couldn’t do a flip.” However, there was more to her kidney disease that she kept secret until now.

Not one but two kidney diseases

In a recent interview, USA’s gymnastics team, comprising Suni Lee, Evita Griskenas, Yul Moldauer, Kayla DiCello, and Brody Malone, shared their insights about the upcoming events. However, the spotlight shone brightly on Suni Lee as she shocked everyone with a revelation about her kidney disease.

Soon after the conclusion of the interview, Nancy Armour took to her X account and shared among the spectators, “Suni says she actually had TWO kidney diseases.” But, no one knew that she had two kidney diseases until she said, “If I had not gotten the other kidney disease,” in the same interview. Her “other kidney disease” wasn’t as bad as the first. She added, “they wouldn’t have found out I had this kidney disease until later on, when I had Stage IV kidney failure.”

After a year-long struggle to overcome adversities in the form of kidney disease, Suni Lee has finally embarked on the recovery process. Not only this, but she has also made a comeback in competitive gymnastics. Additionally, she competed at the US Classic and US Championships last summer. However, returning to athletics championships is not her only goal.

2024 Paris Olympics quest: Suni Lee

At the National Championships held last year, Suni not only secured a bronze medal at the balance beam but also earned an invite to the US World Championships. However she declined the invitation to take some rest as her condition is not fully resolved. Now she is moving forward, aiming for the 2024 Paris Olympics while maintaining a low-sodium diet.

She said, “It’s really difficult to kind of work through, but on the days that I can do stuff and I am feeling good, I try and take advantage of that and just get everything done.” As her long-term goal to defend her Olympic gold remains, she is preparing to first showcase her prowess at the US Olympic trials in Minnesota.