Sunisa Lee, you will always be famous. After helping to secure a gold medal during Tuesday’s team finals, the gymnast best known for her grace and balletic style returned to her signature event on the uneven bars on Sunday. With a near-flawless routine and landing, the 21-year-old edged out Belgium’s Nina Derwael to take home the bronze medal — her third time medaling at the 2024 Olympics, her sixth Olympic career medal, and her second timing winning bronze on the bars. Per ESPNW, Lee is now the first American woman to earn multiple Olympic medals on the uneven bars. Now that’s a decorated gymnast.
“The pressure was on,” Lee told ESPN after competing last on Sunday. “It’s so much more meaningful because last Olympics I told myself I was coming back to redeem myself on bars, and that’s what I did this time. I wanted to just put a good, clean routine together. If I just did the routine I did the past couple of days, then I knew I would medal. I wanted to go up there, prove to myself that I could do it.”
While Lee was shocked and in tears the moment she realized she’d medaled yet again (she also took home a bronze medal in the women’s all-around final earlier this week), she and teammate Simone Biles were also shown cheering on Kaylia Nemour of Algeria, who took home the country’s gold medal in the event, winning Africa’s first-ever Olympic medal in gymnastics. The 17-year-old executed a stunning technical performance, securing a 15.700 to just barely take the bars’ top spot from China’s Qiu Qiyuan and delivering a historic moment for her country.
For her part, Lee has had her own historic comeback after suffering from debilitating kidney diseases over the past year and change. Since recovering, she’s been rock solid on both the team and individual competitions and will have a chance to medal in the balance-beam final on Monday, where she’ll be competing alongside Biles once more.
