On the first night of women’s competition at the 2021 U.S. National Championships in Fort Worth, Texas, Suni Lee put on a show on the uneven bars.
Competing what is considered the hardest uneven bars routine in the world, Lee was awarded 15.3 points for her near-flawless routine (video embedded above).
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Perhaps even more significant: the fact that her father, John, was watching from the stands.
In 2019, two days before Suni was scheduled to leave for the U.S. Championships, John fell off a ladder, an accident that left him paralyzed from the waist down. Suni went on to compete at the 2019 U.S. National Championships, winning an unexpected silver medal in the all-around (behind Simone Biles). John watched both that meet - and Suni’s performance at the 2019 World Championships - from his hospital bed.
Today’s meet marked the first time that John was able to watch his daughter compete in-person since 2018.
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But when competition initially got underway, Suni struggled to spot her parents in the stands.
“Right before I went [on bars], I saw them and I was like, ‘Ok, this is going to be a good routine,’” she said.
After her bars routine, Suni says she was so excited that she didn’t even salute the right way.
Competing in her first all-around in over a year, Suni went on to finish second overall (behind Biles) - a strong statement given that she is currently coming back from a foot/Achilles injury.
just in time for the meet💖 pic.twitter.com/SNf6NjOFe6
— Sunisa lee (@sunisalee_) June 4, 2021
NBC Sports’ Sarah Hughes contributed to this story.
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