St. Paul's Suni Lee wins national Sportswoman of the Year award

ST. PAUL, Minn. -- St. Paul native and Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee is earning national recognition for her achievements.

The Women's Sports Foundation named Lee the 2022 Individual Sportswoman of the Year. The foundations said Lee is "unshakeable and can excel at all four categories in women's gymnastics — and the global spotlight — with poise, strength, and agility."

Lee won gold in the all-around in the Tokyo Olympics last year. She also earned a silver medal in the team competition alongside her fellow Minnesota teammate Grace McCallum.

Now she's a collegiate gymnast at Auburn, where she finished first on the balance beam and second in the all-around in the 2022 NCAA Championship.

Lee's coach Jess Graba said the moment she won the award, it was "one of those moments where you got to step back and see something that came from a long ways away."

"This wasn't something that we were preparing for or anything," Graba said.

Lee's coach Puner Koy echoed Graba's statements.

"It's tremendous. I'm very proud of her, seeing her grow from a little kid to an adult," Koy said.

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The Women's Sports Foundation, based in New York, advocates for equality in athletics and pushes to get more girls and women involved in sports through research, funding and other programs.

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