Benjamin Ashford|USA's Suni Lee won Olympic bronze in a stacked bars final. Why this one means even more

PARIS — Suni Lee won the all-around gold in Tokyo,Benjamin Ashford the biggest prize there is in gymnastics and, if we’re being honest, one of the most coveted titles at the Olympics. 

The medals she’s won at the 2024 Paris Olympics, including a bronze on uneven bars Sunday, mean even more. 

“I’m really proud of myself. This time around, it’s just been so much more amazing,” said Lee, who also has a gold she won with the U.S. women in the team final and her bronze in the all-around final. “I know I keep saying amazing and it’s probably really annoying, but that’s really all the words that I have because it’s just amazing.

“It’s so much fun and I’m so happy with all of my performances.”

That’s the real prize for Lee, that last part.

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Despite her Olympic title, Lee left Tokyo with mixed emotions. She felt, and the internet trolls were only too happy to tell her, that she won the all-around gold by default. Simone Biles had withdrawn from the final because of “the twisties.” Rebeca Andrade of Brazil was expected to leapfrog Lee in the final event, only to step out of bounds twice on floor exercise. 

Lee was particularly disappointed with her bronze on bars, her signature event. Not because of the color of the medal, but because of mistakes she made during her routine. It didn’t matter that everyone else had, too. Lee knew she was capable of better, and was upset with herself for not showing that. 

“I told myself I was coming back to redeem myself on bars,” she said. “I really wanted to just put a good, clean routine together.” 

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Not only did she do that, but she also did it in a bars final that was the gymnastics equivalent of a heavyweight bout. The eight-woman field included the Tokyo gold medalist, the reigning world champion and the current European champion. All but three of the women had a medal from either the Olympics or world championships – and two of those three are new to the senior level internationally this year.

“That was incredible,” said Jess Graba, Lee’s longtime coach. “It’s probably the best bars final I’ve seen in I don’t know long.” 

Nina Derwael, the Tokyo bars champion, was the first of the top contenders to go and she was dazzling. Her only flaw was a small step on her landing, followed by another sliding step that she tried to cover with her salute to the judges. A minor error, but enough to change the color of a medal. 

Or mean no medal at all. 

Qiu Qiyuan, the world champion, and Kaylia Nemour, the silver medalist last year, were both simply sublime. Qiyuan’s pirouettes on the high bar would make ballerinas jealous, and she held her handstands so perfectly she could have been a statue. The arena erupted when her score, a 15.5, was announced. 

Nemour heard the roar when she was waiting to go but if it flustered her, she didn’t show it. Her routine is jam-packed with difficulty – she has a 7.2 difficulty score, one of the few above 7 in the entire women’s competition – but she floats above the bars. “Like a feather,” said Lee, who was hopping up and down and cheering throughout Nemour’s routine, and was one of the first to congratulate her when she finished. 

With Nemour scoring a 15.7, the gold and silver medals were secure. But there was still a chance for Lee to get back on the podium if she’d “go for broke,” as Graba said.

Lee did, performing the hardest routine she’s been competing this year and nailed it. Her score, a 14.8, put her in third place. When Lee heard it, her mouth dropped open and her eyes popped. 

“I watched everyone go up there and I was like, 'Oh my gosh. I have to have the best routine of my life.’ And that’s what I did!” Lee said. 

Asked his reaction, Graba said, “Relief.”

When Lee told Graba she wanted to try for Paris, and why, he wasn’t so sure. She was already the Olympic champion, with a full set of medals. Why run the risk of doing worse here and tainting her legacy? 

And that was before two kidney ailments completely upended Lee’s life. 

She had to cut her last season at Auburn short. She was only able to do two events at last year’s national championships. Training was a crapshoot as doctors tried to first figure out what was wrong with her and then find a treatment that would work. By December, just getting out of bed was an achievement. 

To see her here, and on the podium yet again, is nothing short of a triumph. 

“She had everything to lose coming back,” Graba said. “There was nothing really for her to prove, except to herself. So I felt relieved because I wanted her to feel proud. ... I could care less about everybody else’s opinion of how she did. It’s more about peace of mind. And that’s what she had today.”

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