Suni Lee is coming back, and she wants to do it at home. The gymnast announced on Tuesday, in a video set to her own voiceover, that she is returning to the sport with the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in mind. "I know what I'm capable of," she said. "I'm willing to do whatever it takes to get there."
A decorated résumé
Lee, 23, is one of the most accomplished gymnasts of her generation. At the Tokyo Games, held in 2021, she won the women's all-around title, gymnastics' marquee individual event, along with a team silver and a bronze on the uneven bars, the apparatus that became her signature. At the 2024 Paris Games she added a team gold and two bronzes, in the all-around and on the uneven bars. In all, she owns six Olympic medals, two of them gold.
A health scare, and a remission
What makes the comeback remarkable is what she has been through. Lee was diagnosed with a kidney illness in 2023 that caused swelling and other symptoms and, at its worst, put her career in doubt. She has spoken openly about the toll it took. In 2024 she said the condition had gone into remission and that she had been able to return to close to a full training load, going on to compete and medal in Paris. Her decision to keep going, rather than step away after two Olympic cycles, is the latest turn in a career defined as much by resilience as by results.
Why 2028 is different
A Los Angeles Olympics gives the goal a particular pull. American athletes rarely get to compete for a gold medal on home soil, and for Lee the 2028 Games would be a third Olympics and a chance to perform in front of a home crowd. Reaching them is far from guaranteed: elite gymnastics is punishing on the body, the U.S. team is deep, and a multi-year comeback at the top level, especially for an athlete managing a chronic condition, is a demanding road.
For now, the announcement itself is the news. One of the faces of American gymnastics intends to chase another Olympics, in her own country, and has told the sport she is willing to do the work to get there. The rest, the qualifying meets, the difficulty upgrades, the medical management, lies ahead, over the two years between here and Los Angeles.
