Two years ago, you might have expected Sunisa (”Suni”) Lee to win a medal in the women’s gymnastics all-around competition at the 2024 Paris Olympics. After all, she was the reigning Olympic champion in that event, having captured gold at the last Olympics in Tokyo in 2021. A year ago, though, expectations had changed. During the first half of 2023, Lee was dealing with being newly diagnosed with not one but two rare kidney diseases. This left her entire gymnastics career in jeopardy, let alone making it to Paris as part of the U.S. Olympic team. But this past week, the 21-year-old Lee fulfilled the expectations from a couple years ago and exceeded the expectations from a year ago in not only helping the U.S. win team gold on Wednesday but also earning a bronze medal in the individual all-around on Thursday.
Yeah, Lee’s path to her medals in Paris has been shall we say quite rough and tumble. You may not think about your kidneys on a daily basis because you can’t see them in mirrors or selfies. But they do important work, serving as the primary plumbing and sewage systems of your body by helping regulate the fluid balance in your body and filter and excrete toxic substances. When your kidneys don’t work properly and fluidly, fluid and toxins can keep build up in your body to the point where they become life-threatening.
Speaking of fluid, that’s what Lee found around her ankles when she woke up one morning in February 2023, as detailed in an article written by Kayla Blanton for SELF. Now, lots of things can cause one’s ankles to swell including ankle injuries which are common in gymnastics. So,, her mind probably didn’t go right to her kidneys. But as Blanton described, not too long afterwards, other parts of her body—her face, arms, and legs—began swelling with fluid accumulation, which is otherwise known as edema if you want to sound all medical.
Experiencing edema throughout your body could be part of an allergic reaction. But there are other causes such as your heart not being able to effectively pump blood throughout your body, your liver failing and causing a back up of blood and, of course, kidney problems, where your body can’t excrete enough fluid. So, if you notice unexplained edema,
In addition to the swelling, Lee began experiencing other symptoms, including hot and cold spells, headaches, cramping, nausea, and lightheadedness. The swelling caused pain and made it difficult to bend her joints. At the same time, no one could tell her for sure what was causing all these physical problems. This, naturally, left her feeling very down.
Eventually a urine test and biopsy of her kidneys revealed that things were amiss with her kidneys. Again, not just one thing amiss…but two. Lee has not yet publicly revealed what specifically these two diagnoses. But Lee has indicated that neither is currently curable, as Blanton reported for SELF. With two likely serious kidney issues, it is not surprising that Lee was suffering a range of symptoms. When fluid and toxins build up in your body and electrolyte imbalances result, all sorts of problems can result. Anemia can also occur since the kidneys make erythropoietin—a hormone that triggers red blood cell production. So can bone problems since the kidneys help regulate phosphorus, calcium and vitamin D levels. That’s why when kidney disease advances to kidney failure, people typically have to either go on dialysis or get a kidney transplant.
On April 3, 2023, Lee did announce on social media that she was stepping away from the Auburn University gymnastics team to focus on her health. But she reaffirmed that she was still aiming to make the U.S. Olympic team for Paris 2024. With a new perspective, a modified training regimen and, oh, a new puppy, Lee pressed on and later that year returned to competition to finish second to Simone Biles on the balance beam at the Core Hydration Classic in Chicago and earn a bronze medal on balance beam at the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships.
Her progress and management of the kidney diseases led her doctors at the beginning of 2024 to give her the go-ahead to compete for the Paris Games. And she did she go ahead with this go ahead. Near the end of June, Lee came in second in the trials to make the U.S. Olympic team, held at the Target Center in Minneapolis. During those trials, she registered the highest score of all on the uneven parallel bars.
All of this vaulted her to the Paris 2024 Olympics, where she has not shown any obvious signs of kidney disease. Quite the opposite as she along with Biles have been the top performers for the U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team. But the struggles of those with such conditions often remain hidden. Symptoms may not even manifest until kidney failure has occurred. That’s why it is important to get your kidney function checked regularly through screening blood and urine tests. You don’t want unseen problems to go unseen for too long.
