Sunisa Lee
Sixteen-year-old Sunisa Lee, of St. Paul, Minn. took second place at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Aug. 11, outscoring and outperforming a handful of world medalists.
Lee first tried the sport at age 6. A family friend knew a coach at Midwest Gymnastics Center and suggested she enroll. Lee has been at the club ever since.
Lee is believed to be the first Hmong American gymnast to make a national team, and next year could become the first to make an Olympic team.
“I’ve been training for it my whole life and I just want to do it for the Hmong community and my family and my coaches because they’ve given everything for me,” Lee said.
Her ultimate goal of competing at the Olympic Games Tokyo 2020 is less than one year away.