Suni Lee Wins Olympic Gold Medal
In the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, moved to summer of 2021 because of the coronavirus, Asian American Sunisa (Suni) Lee won the all-around gold medal in gymnastics for the U.S. team. Suni Lee scored a 14.6 on the bars, 15.3 on the uneven bars, 13.833 on beam, and 13.7 on floor, which added to a total winning score of 57.433. The scores are determined by two parts, the D and E score. The D score starts from zero and goes up to six or seven depending on the difficulty of the routine. The E score is the execution score and starts at 10. Points are deducted by judges based on the gymnast’s execution of the planned routine. Lee’s win gave her the platform to represent Asian American gymnasts in the Olympics as well as bring more awareness to Asian American representation in the sports world.
Lee was the first Hmong American to win an all-around gold, which allowed her to publicly represent and educate others on her Hmong culture. The Hmong people are an ethnic group of Chinese descendants who originated as a clan in southern Asia. In 1800, the Hmong people were subject to political persecution and many migrated out of China and to neighboring countries like Thailand. Today, the Hmong people pride themselves on their unique culture and due to Lee’s success, many Olympic viewers have decided to educate themselves on the Hmong people’s history and culture (MPR News). Sophomore Josh Wang, a fellow Hmong descendant, discusses how Lee’s win has impacted his family and how inspirational her achievements are.
“Suni Lee has inspired me a lot [due to] her success at the Olympics,” Wang said. “My family would constantly bring her up in discussions where we talked about achieving our life goals. She has taught me to work hard and persevere through tough obstacles, and truly is an inspiration to not only me, but the Hmong community as a whole.”
In addition to the praise Lee has received, she has also faced criticism regarding the merit of her win. Representing the same team, gymnast Simone Biles had to end her participation halfway through the Olympics because of her mental health struggles. Even though Biles supported Lee in her victory, critics said that Lee only won because Biles had left the competition. However, the Asian community was quick to defend Lee on her victory and support Lee in fighting the claims invalidating her win. Among Lee’s supporters, sophomore Gianna Martocia, a current level 10 gymnast, which is the highest level in the U.S. Gymnastics Junior Olympics program, is grateful that Lee received the Asian community’s support, and she feels the win was warranted.
“[Lee] dedicated her life to winning that medal and for people to say that [it] was not deserved is absurd to me,” Martocia said. “She won that medal because of her hard work and I [am] so glad that the Asian community fought for her.”
Lee’s influence after winning the Olympic medal has encouraged people to educate themselves and others about Hmong and Asian culture. The win has also given her a large platform to spread awareness to the Hmong culture. On Instagram, many creators posted to congratulate Lee on her victory and included the hashtag #Hmong. Lee’s TikTok page, @sunilee_, has over 1 million followers, and provides yet another platform for her to expose people to Hmong culture. Currently, Lee is a contestant on “Dancing with the Stars” where she is performing as the face of the Hmong people. Another level 10 gymnast, sophomore Paige Dawson, is proud of Lee’s win, acknowledging the importance of the representation it brings.
“After Suni Lee’s performance, I was so [shocked] with the amount of publicity it brought,” Dawson said. “I [am] so happy that she finally got the recognition she [and] her heritage] deserved. She did a great job representing her Asian heritage [and] the U.S. team.”
