Sunisa Lee, of United States, competes on the vault during a women’s artistic gymnastics qualification round at Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Sunday, July 28, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)
PARIS — Suni Lee delivered a standout performance as the U.S. women’s gymnastics team clinched gold in the team final at the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday—redeeming their second-place finish from the 2021 Tokyo Games.
Lee, who is Hmong American, played a crucial role in securing the top spot for Team USA. The Americans finished with a score of 171.296, nearly six points ahead of Italy, which earned silver with 165.494. Brazil took bronze with a score of 164.497.
Despite a challenging warmup session where she fell off the uneven bars, Lee bounced back with resilience. Her highest score of the night came on the balance beam, where she earned 14.600, tying for the best mark of the competition.
Simone Biles, a key teammate, capped the evening with a final routine score of 14.666 on the floor exercise. Biles, who had stepped out of bounds during her routine, was nonetheless celebrated by the crowd and her teammates.
For Lee, this marks her second Olympic gold medal and the fourth medal of her career. Her first gold came in the individual all-around at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, where she also earned a bronze on the bars and contributed to the U.S. team’s silver medal.