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American Suni Lee wins individual women's gymnastics final in absence of Simone Biles

2021-07-29T15:32:52.827Z


Her father explains how he built her a training bar in his garden when she didn't have the money to buy one, and how he encouraged her to keep racing even after a terrifying accident.


By Chantal Da Silva and Elisha Fieldstadt - NBC News

The American gymnast Sunisa Lee won the gold medal in the women's individual final at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, in which the star of the team, Simone Biles, did not participate, who retired to focus on her mental health.

Brazilian Rebeca Andrade took silver and gave her country's first medal in women's gymnastics.

Russian Angelina Melnikova won bronze.

Born 18 years ago in Saint Paul, Minnesota, Lee is the first

Hmong

American with

Chinese roots to compete in the Olympics.

Her father explained to NBC's TODAY program Thursday that he, his wife and "the whole community" were watching together and "holding their breath" as the young woman competed.

"I know she is excited and happy, and we are very proud of her," said John Lee.

The father of the Olympic champion said in the past that, not being able to buy a balance beam for her as a child, he built it for her in the backyard of her house.

["We are human": Simone Biles highlights the importance of mental health after withdrawing from another Olympic final]

In June, she witnessed her daughter's qualification for the Games from the stands.

It was one of the few times he was able to see her compete in person as she fell off a ladder in 2019, two days before the United States National Gymnastics Championships, leaving her paralyzed from the chest down.

The gymnast then considered skipping the championships, but her father pushed her to continue.

Lee also won silver in Tokyo in Tuesday's team final.

On Thursday she was accompanied in the final by Jade Carey, who took the place of Biles and came in eighth place on Thursday.

The US women's gymnastics team is ready for Tokyo 2020: Simone Biles leads the group

June 28, 202100: 26

Simone Biles' decision to withdraw from the team and individual final caused an earthquake at the Ariake Gymnastics Center in Tokyo and caused a huge impact on the world of sport.

"The flood of love and support that I have received has made me realize that I am more than my achievements and gymnastics, something that I had never really believed," revealed the Olympic champion on Twitter.

Biles, 24, "will continue to evaluate daily" to determine whether or not he should participate in next week's apparatus final, according to a statement from the US gymnastics team.

[Severe cases of COVID-19 increase in Tokyo during the Olympic Games]

In a meeting with reporters from NBC News, two of Biles' teammates, Grace McCallum and Jordan Chiles, expressed their support for Biles and said they are fighting to win medals.

"It has been crazy, crazy," said Chiles, noting that they have had to train in the middle of a pandemic and that they are competing in an empty pavilion because the Japanese government's protection measures prevent the presence of spectators in the stands.

Source: telemundo

All news articles on 2021-07-29

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