With the 2026 Winter Olympics in Milan wrapping up just last week, American gymnast Suni Lee opened up about her admiration for two standout athletes she cheered for during the Games.
Team USA clinched second place on the medal table, collecting 12 gold, 12 silver, and 9 bronze medals for a total of 33, thanks to electrifying performances from stars like Alysa Liu, Chloe Kim, and Mikaela Shiffrin.
Since her last appearance at the Paris 2024 Games, Lee has stepped away from competitive gymnastics, embracing new adventures and focusing on life beyond the mat.
Suni Lee Gets Candid About Chloe Kim and Alysa Liu
Lee shares a close friendship with Chloe Kim, who won silver in women’s snowboard halfpipe at the Milan Games. The pair first met at the 2021 ESPY Awards, and have publicly supported each other on many occasions.
In a recent interview, Lee was asked about who she liked to watch at the Milan Games, to which she said:
“I would say, I probably paid the most attention to, of course, my friends. Chloe Kim, and also, I’m a really big fan of Alysa Liu. I think she’s just so cool. And they both are such great representation for Asian women in sports, and it’s just really cool to see.”
Lee added that Kim made fun of her for snowboarding down the kids’ slope, saying:
“I think she’s [Chloe Kim] is the coolest person ever. I was just showing her how I learned to snowboard, and she was making fun of me for going down the kids’ slope. And I was like, ‘you get up on a beam’, I think it would be great to see. I think people would love it… I think actually, it would be easier for her to get on the beam than for me to snowboard.”
Liu dazzled at the Milan Games, capturing two gold medals: one as part of Team USA’s victorious figure skating team and another in the women’s singles event.
Meanwhile, Lee burst onto the scene at the 2019 World Championships, making her senior international debut unforgettable with a team gold, silver on floor exercise, and uneven bars bronze, instantly becoming one of the nation’s brightest new stars.
After earning many accolades on the international stage, Lee decided to take a break from gymnastics following her Paris 2024 campaign, where she tied for the second-most Olympic medals by an American gymnast. She revealed earlier in 2023 that she was dealing with an incurable kidney disease, and this forced her to take a step away from the sport.
Away from the gym, Lee has thrown herself into new passions, such as fashion, acting, and branding, discovering fresh ways to grow and express herself beyond gymnastics.
