Standing out! Sunisa “Suni” Lee was a breakout star during the Tokyo Olympics and went on to set her eyes on a different award: the Dancing With the Stars mirrorball trophy.
ABC announced in August 2021 that Lee would be one of the youngest contestants on season 30 of the dance competition show premiering that fall.
“Hi, guys, I’m Suni Lee and I’m an Olympic gold medalist. I’m so excited to be joining season 30 of Dancing With the Stars,” the artistic gymnast said in a teaser video via Instagram. “See you on the dance floor.”
JoJo Siwa, who will be the first contestant to compete with a same-sex partner, joined Lee in the ballroom.
“I am so excited to be a part of Dancing With the Stars season 30. And to be dancing with a girl I think it’s so cool,” Siwa, who came out as a member of the LGBTQ+ community in January 2021, said via the show’s official Instagram account. “It’s going to be the best ever. I can’t wait to just dance every week. I can’t wait to meet my partner. Oh, my gosh, there are so many things I’m so excited for.”
Lee has also made her fair share of history, becoming the first Hmong-American to take home three medals during the Olympics, including a gold in the all-around event, silver in the team final and bronze in individual uneven bars event. After returning from Tokyo, she was ready to compete once again.
“I’ve seen so many people go out there and do Dancing With the Stars, so it was one of my goals after the Olympics,” Lee told USA Today in August 2021.
The professional athlete previously watched DWTS “whenever there [were] gymnasts on the show” and revealed she was excited to try something new after training in her own sport for so long.
“It’s expressing yourself even more when you’re dancing, because you’ve kind of been locked up a little bit in gymnastics,” she noted. “Dancing is just super fun.”
Lee was ready to leave her mark on the DWTS stage, but there was still one aspect of ballroom dance that made her nervous.
“Dancing in high heels is the one thing I’m scared about,” Lee explained. “My ankles are very fragile. Hopefully they will get stronger.”
Scroll down to learn more about Lee before her DWTS debut:
As the youngest person on the U.S. gymnastics team in Tokyo, Lee gained a major victory when she brought home a gold medal in the all-around competition and a bronze on the uneven bars.
Lee earned a silver medal as well in the team final, after Simone Biles withdrew due to mental health issues. Before the Olympics, she previously won gold at the 2019 World Championships.
"I’m an olympian forever. just like that my olympic experience is over. forever grateful to represent team USA & my amazing family back home," Lee wrote via Instagram in July. "This has been the craziest yet most exciting journey. it was not quite how i expected my olympics to go but it’s one that i will cherish forever ! THANK YOU to everyone who believed in me & helped me get here, your support is truly amazing and i cannot thank you enough. 🤍 see yall on the plains ;)"
Kohei Maruyama/AFLO/Shutterstock
Lee has previously posted TikTok videos of her dancing with teammate Jordan Chiles before confirming her gig on DWTS — but the results weren't always a success.
"It was a struggle. Jordan was trying to teach me how to dance," Lee explained to USA Today in August 2021. "She's like, 'You're going on Dancing With the Stars? You don't know how to dance!'"
Courtesy of Sunisa Lee/Instagram
Lee grew up as one of five siblings in St. Paul, Minnesota, after her family immigrated from Laos. Ahead of her involvement at the Olympics, her father, John Lee, opened up about his daughter's impact in their community.
"A lot of people don't understand Hmong people or that we went through a really rough life to get here to the United States," he told ESPN in July 2021. "Many groups of Asians get lumped together. Did you see the movie with Clint Eastwood, Gran Torino? It was based on the Hmong people, and even still no one knows. Maybe because of Sunisa, people might know us."
Courtesy of Sunisa Lee/Instagram
Suni struggled to continue with the sport when the Olympics were postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic in 2020. After later suffering a leg injury and losing two family members to COVID-19, the gymnast relied on those close to her for inspiration.
"It's been a tough year, but I'm super proud of myself," the athlete told ESPN in July 2021. "After COVID and quarantine, I was unmotivated because we had so much time off and I felt I wasn't good enough anymore. But now I've been a lot better mentally, and you can see it in my gymnastics."
TATYANA ZENKOVICH/EPA-EFE/Shutterstock
After committing to Auburn University in Alabama, Lee will do online courses while she trains for the ABC dancing competition. She will return in January 2022 to compete on the gymnastics team.
Courtesy of Sunisa Lee/Instagramfrom Celebrity News – Us Weekly https://ift.tt/3jtlyoV
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