Tokyo Olympics: With Simone Biles' withdrawal, all eyes turn to Suni Lee in women's gymnastics competition

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Sunisa Lee is now the best hope in the gymnastic individual all-around competition.

UPDATED July 28, 11:15 a.m. PDT, to include Lee's tweet.

Suddenly,18-year old Suni Lee, the first Hmong American Olympic athlete, was in the spotlight, and so was the pressure.

That changed Sunday. Shaky mental health was the reason Simone Biles, who before the Olympics was expected to sweep all the gold medals, withdrew from the gymnastics team competition at the Tokyo Olympics.

Lee, who finished second to Biles in the U.S. championships, delivered when the U.S. team was still reeling from Biles decision and needed an emotional lift to remain competitive with the Russians

After a shaky performance on the vault, Biles took herself out of the competition and suddenly left the floor. She returned, but she had decided to not compete in the team competition. Biles' training partner Jordan Chiles was called in the take the place of Biles.

The next event, the uneven bars, is Lee's specialty. It is the one apparatus that Biles was not expected to win because of Lee's complex spectacular routine. She earned a score of 15.4, the highest score of the night. Lee's performance on the bars signaled the rest of the room that the U.S. was not going to go down without a fight.

Lee nailed her balance beam routine. The rest of the U.S. team did their best with just a few mistakes.

Lee took Biles place on the floor competition and even without preparation or warm up, scored high enough to keep the U.S. close to the Russians.

The Russians three strong floor routines was enough fo win the team competition, The first time in three straight Olympics that the U.S. did not take the gold.

Lee will now compete in Thursday's individual all-around, a competition that she could win, now that her teammate Biles is not competing.

Meanwhile, Biles, acknowledged as the greatest gymnast -- male or female -- of all time will decide later whether or not she will compete in the separate apparatus.

Late Tuesday night, Biles announced that she would not be taking part in the individual all-around. "I'm taking one day at a time," she told reporters, admitting that the problem is more mental than physical.

"Whenever you get in a high stress situation, you kind of freak out," Biles told reporters on Tuesday. "I have to focus on my mental health and not jeopardize my health and well-being.

"It just sucks when you're fighting with your own head." 

"After further medical evaluation, Simone Biles has withdrawn from the final individual all-around competition at the Tokyo Olympic Games, in order to focus on her mental health," tweeted USA Gymnastics.

"Simone will continue to be evaluated daily to determine whether or not to participate in next week's individual event finals. Jade Carey, who had the ninth highest score in qualifications, will participate in her place in the all-around.

"We wholeheartedly support Simone's decision and applaud her bravery in prioritizing her well-being. Her courage shows, yet again, why she is a role model for so many."

Asked about Biles in a press conference after the team competition, Lee responded, “To see her kind of go out like that is very sad because this Olympic Games, I feel like, is kind of hers.”

A reporter asked Lee if she stacks up against the competition, Biles interjected, giving  Lee some impromptu advice, "Instead of competing against other people, if you just focus on yourself you'll be alright."

Later on Tuesday night, Lee, a native of St. Paul, Minn, tweeted that she has “never been prouder to be apart of such an amazing team with an amazing group of girls.”

She added: “We stepped up when we needed to and did this for ourselves. we do not owe anyone a gold medal, we are WINNERS in our hearts.”

Tokyo Olympics: Suni Lee joins Simone Biles in gymnastic's all-around competition

Suni Lee on the uneven bars in Tokyo.

The first Hmong American Olympian qualified for the individual all-around competition in women's gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics.

Sunisa Lee, of St. Paul, Minnesota was among the bright spots for the U.S. at the Olympics gymnastics arena in Tokyo. She will be joining Simone Biles, the world's No. 1 gymnast and compete in all five events for the crown of best gymnast.

After Biles, it was a battle between Lee and Jade Carey to determine who would join Biles in the all-around. Each nation can only enter two women. It wasn't decided until the balance beam, the final event when Lee scored higher than Carey.

The U.S. women were not at their best in the team qualifying round. Superstar Biles, especially, was not her usual other worldly self, particularly in her landings in the vault, balance beam and uneven bars where she had to take extra steps. 

As a result, the Russian women scored higher than the Americans, who up until yesterday were considered a lock for th gold medal.

Sunday's qualifying scores do not carry over to Tuesday when the team scores will count and the women's team was subdued coming off the floor. 

"Obviously, there are little things we need to work on,'' Biles said. "We'll go back and practice and work on that, so we can do our best performance at team finals. That's what matters.''

Lee said the competition was "most nerve-wracking" that she's been in. Nerves may have been part of the reason the U.S. did not perform up to their own standards. The other reason was that the Americans held back some of their best routines while the Russians upped their game.

Lee also qualified for the balance beam and uneven bars event finals.

Lee is the first Hmong American to represent the U.S. in the Olympics. It "means a lot to the Hmong community ... and to just be an inspiration to other Hmong people (means) a lot to me too," she stold the Sahan Journal.

SCREEN CAPTURE / NBC

Suni Lee's family cheered her performance from their home in St. Paul, Minn.

2021 OLYMPICS: Medals expected with first Hmong American gymnast in the U.S. women's team

TEAM USA

Olympian Sunisa Lee on the balance beam.

To no one's surprise, Simone Biles, a once-in-a-century athlete, dominated the gymnastic tryouts over the weekend, but coming in a strong second is the first Hmong American to make the U.S. Olympic team.

Sunisa Lee, 18, did well enough in all the events to raise the possibility of the American squad winning the gold and silver medals at the Tokyo Olympics next month with the gold, presumably going to Biles, the G.O.A.T. in women's gymnastics.

The University of Auburn-bound Lee locked up one of the two guaranteed spots for the team with her second-place finish in the two-day event. And it took an uncharacteristically off-night for Biles – with an error on uneven bars and a fall on balance beam -- for Lee to hold the advantage in those two events.

Besides being the first Hmong American to reach such prominence in the sport, the road to making the Olympic team has not been easy for Lee from St. Paul, Minnesota.

Lee’s life turned upside down right as her elite gymnastics career was taking off. Just days before heading to her first senior U.S. championships in 2019, Lee’s dad, John, became partially paralyzed after falling from a ladder. The Minnesota native decided to still compete, and all she did was finish as runner-up to Biles. 

Lee has since gone on to win a full slate of world championships medals — gold with the team, silver on floor, bronze on uneven bars — before claiming another runner-up finish at the U.S. championships earlier this month.

The journey to get here has come with more hardship, though. While John Lee has made progress in his recovery, an aunt the gymnast was close with died of COVID-19. Two weeks later, her uncle died too. This all came as the Lee was grappling with the reality that the Tokyo Games she’d been working toward had been pushed back a year. 

“You don't think something like this would ever happen to you,” the gymnast who goes by Suni told the Minneapolis Star Tribune. “And when it did, it was like everything hit all at one time.”

RELATED: Korean American makes US Men's Gymnastic Team.

With her parents in the crowd at nationals and trials, Lee, 18, has looked the part of an Olympian. While recovering from an ankle injury earlier this year, Lee said she heard the whispers about whether she could be an all-arounder at the Olympics. So the future Auburn Tiger went out and posted the second best all-around scores at both nationals and the trials. 

While Lee could no doubt factor into the all-around in Tokyo, the event to really pay attention is the uneven bars, where she starts with a world-class 6.7 difficulty score and connects a seemingly never ending chain of skills like it’s no big deal. If she can hit that routine in Tokyo, Lee could come home with an individual gold medal along with the gold medal for the team competition, in which the U.S. is the favorite.

Besides Lee and Biles, the rest of the women's gymnastic squad were introduced following the conclusion of Sunday’s competition at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in St. Louis. They also include Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum. In addition, Jade Carey and MyKayla Skinner qualified for Tokyo as individuals.

TEAM USA

This year's women's gymnastic team might be better than the team that won the 2016 team title.

Waiting in the wings in case of injury or COVID-19 protocols, is Filipino American Emma Malabuyo, who was named one of the alternates. The UCLA-bound Texan finished in ninth place overall at the Trials. Her best events are vault, uneven bars and beam and her floor routine.

Chinese American Emily Lee, also competed at the Trials and finished 15th after she was unable to finish her final event due to an injury. 

Since winning the team silver medal at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the U.S. women are undefeated in the Olympic and world championships team competitions, a combined seven victories. The winning streak goes even longer in the individual all-around, with a U.S. woman having won every Olympic gold medal since Carly Patterson in 2004, and 10 of the 12 world titles during that span.

Asian American gymnasts in the running for the U.S. Women's Olympic team

Emma Matabuyo surprised at the U.S. Championships.

Two Asian Americans are among the gymnasts who might make the U.S. Women's Gymnastics Olympic Team.

There's Simon Biles' then, everybody else on the U.S. Women's Gymnastic Team that will compete in the Olympics this summer.

Biles, who does feats no one else can do on the competitive floor, is in a category all by herself, placing first in the U.S. Championships held last weekend.

While the Olympic team won't be announced until after the Olympic Trials being held June 24-27 in St. Louis, Missouri, barring injury, BIles is essentially a lock for the Tokyo Olympics.

In addition to winning a record-breaking seventh all-around national title at the 2021 U.S. Championships, Biles also extended her undefeated streak: she has won every all-around competition she’s entered since March 2013.

The remaining question is who will be joining her on the four-member Olympic team. 

Coming in the Championships' scoring is Suni Lee, which gives her a strong bet for the team. Lee was the only athlete not named “Simone Biles” to claim a national title at U.S. Championships. She posted the highest score on uneven bars and also finished second in the all-around, a particularly impressive achievement given that the 18-year-old Hmong American is currently coming back from a foot/Achilles injury.

“I think this is a really good confidence booster because I wasn’t even at my full potential on floor, and obviously my vault could have been a little better and today my bars was a little rough,” Lee said. “It definitely helps my confidence because I know I don’t have to be 100 percent to be in the top with Simone, so I’m really proud of myself.”

Jordan Chiles, who appears to be peaking at just the right time, rounds out the top three.

Filipino American gymnast Emma Malabuyo from Texas finished a surprising fourth. 

“Clearly Emma Malabuyo was super impressive,” high-performance team coordinator Tom Forster noted. “She came out of a very, very low position at the U.S. Classic, and it’s great to see her back in her international form that she was in a couple years ago since she’s wrestled with a couple injuries here and there. … There were a couple of surprises today but I’d say she was the best surprise that we weren’t expecting.”

In the top five is 18-year old Leanne Wong of Kansas. The University of Florida-bound gymnast's strongest event was her floor routine.

Besides Biles and Lee, the scores at the Championships or the trials won't necessarily provide a a cleaerfut choice for the team. The complicated selection process is mystifying for anyone outside of the world of gymnastics.

“The gymnast does not have to be an all-arounder,” Forster said of the additional, individual athlete. “Our goal is to provide our athletes with the most opportunities to win medals for themselves and for Team USA. We believe that we’re going to have our strongest all-arounders on the team. … Whoever is really stepping up and showing the best potential for winning a medal or medals will earn that [individual] spot.”

Young Hmong American gymnast shines at World's championship

USA GYMNASTICS

Sunisa Lee, left, and  Simone Biles helped lead the US to the team title at World's Gymnastic Championship.

ASAM NEWS

Sunisa Lee said she couldn’t help but think of her father as she stood on the gold medal podium with Team USA at the World Gymnastics Championship in Stuttgart, Germany.

It was just in August when her father fell off a ladder while trying to help a friend. Her father, a Persian Gulf War veteran, suffered a spinal cord injury and is now paralyzed.

“I was thinking of my dad the whole time,” the 16 year old said to NBC Sports, “and to do it for him because I knew that he would be so proud.”

“I FaceTimed him last night and he’s telling me that he’s super excited and proud, and he even woke up super early this morning just to watch,” she said Tuesday to the Star Tribune.

Her father John said “it’s amazing” to see his daughter and teammates doing so well.

Simone Biles, the star of the US team and at age 22, the oldest, took time to single out the Hmong American from St. Paul, Minnesota.

“What’s impressed me the most, I think, has been Suni. She’s only 16 years old. She’s been through a long year, and to come out and put up the three events and the scores she did is pretty crazy.”

Biles record setting performance helped the US women's gymnastics team to win the title. This is their record-tying fifth consecutive World team title, and it's also their seventh win of all time. 

Sunisa told reporters, "I feel amazing. It's so crazy to be a world champion, and I'm so excited." 

In the individual all-around competition, Lee finished eighth in the women's all-around competition in Stuttgart, Germany, after an early miscue  hurt her score in her signature event, on the uneven bars. Meanwhile, her teammate Biles continued her extraordinary run by finishing first in the all-around

"I feel like I kind of let the nerves get to me a little bit, but it's all part of the learning experience," Lee said to reporters in Germany after the meet. "There's going to be a lot more meets to come before the Olympics, so hopefully I can kind of get myself back together for that."

Views From the Edge contributed to this report.

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Three Asian American gymnasts finish among the top five at US championships

USA GYMNASTICS

Sunisa Lee is one of three Asian Americans who are vying for the 2020 US Women's Gymnastics Team.

ASAM NEWS contributed to this report.

If the US women's Olympic gymnastics team was to be chosen right now, three of the top five would be Asian Americans.

The top five all-around women based on their performances on the four catagories: floor exercise, vault, uneven bars, balance beam; 2016 Olympic champion Simone Biles would lead all competitors. However, rounding out the top five would be three Asian American gymnasts Sunisa Lee, Morgan Hurd and Leanne Wong. Grace McCallum joins the top five all-around.

However, the competitors still have to perform at the US Olympic Trials next June in St. Louis before the final selection. 

Like the men’s team, the five-member Olympic women’s team is selected by  by committee. The committee weighed the performance of each gymnast at nationals and Olympic Trials, her strengths on each apparatus, and her past experience.

Senior Women All-around

1. Simone Biles –118.500
2. Sunisa Lee — 113.550
3. Grace McCallum — 111.850
4. Morgan Hurd — 111.700
5. Leanne Wong — 111.250

Sunisa Lee of Minnesota surprised herself by coming in second in the all-around, behind Biles dominating performance.

The 16-year-old placed second at the US Gymnastics Championships in Kansas City, MO. this weekend, behind first place finisher Simone Biles, who sealed her position by doing the first-ever, astounding triple double during her floor exercise.

Lee is the first Hmong American to make Team USA in gymnastics and could become the first Hmong American to make the Olympic team in 2020 in Tokyo.

“It’s crazy. I never thought that I could be that good,” Lee admitted to Team USA.org. “So when I saw that (finishing 2nd), I was just shocked and I didn’t know what to do. My coach, he always says, yeah, you can be second, but I never believe him. I guess he’s right this time.”

“She moves so fluidly – sequential movement for her is so beautiful,” team coordinator Tom Forster said . “She’s a really beautiful gymnast.”

According to Team USA, Lee began in the sport at age 6 and had Olympic aspirations once she made an elite program in her pre-teen years.

This was her first time ever competing in Nationals and the 2020 Olympics is within her reach.

“It adds a lot of pressure,” Lee said on realizing how capable she is of making it to an Olympic Games. “It’s really nerve-wracking; I try not to think about it a lot just because it gets me going a little bit, but it’s always in the back of your head.”

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