Support for Suni Lee comes cross-country to see her statue in St. Paul
ST. PAUL, Minn. — St. Paul's own Suni Lee brought home a bronze medal in Paris on Sunday for her signature event, the uneven bars. It's her third medal for the Paris Olympics, and her sixth Olympic medal overall.
Beyond the Olympic arena, her success and perseverance provide inspiration for countless Americans, including the Xiong family, who made a special stop while visiting Minnesota from Nashville over the weekend.
They were in town for a family wedding, but made the effort to stop by the gym Lee trained at growing up in St. Paul, and then they stopped by Phalen Regional Park to see the Suni Lee statue.
With all of Lee's success, St. Paul recreational summer camp kids put up posters around the statue to cheer Lee on. Many community members added to the display, but weekend storms damped the display.
"We are here checking out our girl Sunisa Lee's statue," said Dang Xiong.
"We're just huge Suni fans, so it's just so cool to come here, in her hometown and experience hype. The Olympics are going on right now, so we just wanted to come and show our support," said Kristen Xiong.
This family feels a tie to the six-time Olympic medalist and the community she represents.
"I married into a Hmong family, our boys are half Hmong," said Kristen, "It's just very special. We're incredibly proud of her."
Their son, Xander, was born during the last summer Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. He was a pre-mature birth, which kept the family in the hospital for a long time, and that's when their fandom for Lee grew.
"It was tough, but having the Olympics on at night, helped us get through the situation and recovery process," said Dang.
So far in Paris, Lee has taken home a gold medal with Team USA, and two individual bronze medals in all-around and uneven bars.
This is a huge feat for someone who battled a kidney disease over the last three years, where a second Olympic run wasn't promised.
"Just seeing how she came back and never gave up, she conquered everything and overcame all those challenges and she's right there competing with the best," said Kristen.
Lee competes on the beam, in her final individual event, on Monday at 5:30 a.m. CT.