Suni Lee won bronze in the individual all-around gymnastics final after a dazzling floor routine finale that electrified viewers around the world.
Nerves were high as Lee, the defending champion in the event, took to the floor for her last competition of the night. She needed to deliver an outstanding performance and receive a score of at least 13.535 to pull past Italy’s Alice D’Amato and secure her spot on the podium.
“This needs to be the routine of her life here,” commentator Laurie Hernandez said as the music began Thursday.
And deliver she did, with a score of 13.666, guaranteeing herself bronze ahead of the penultimate performance from Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade, who ended up taking silver.
The final competitor of the night was Simone Biles, who soared to gold with her own breathtaking floor show after a shaky uneven bars performance earlier in the night left her fate up in the air.
Biles and Lee both made history as the first U.S. gymnasts ever to win a medal more than once in the all-around.
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In a video of Lee’s routine posted by a fan, tensions appeared as high for viewers at home as they were in the stadium, as they cheered and whooped each tumbling pass on the TV.
“Suni Lee absolutely NAILING her floor routine my GOODNESS,” the fan wrote.
“Went from possibly never competing again and is now an Olympic medalist once again. WE’RE SO PROUD OF YOU SUNI AND WE LOVE YOU,” another social media user posted.
“Suni Lee just did one of the BEST floor routine of her career and is getting a medal after dealing with a serious kidney issue. She deserves everything good in this world,” said another.
Back in Minnesota, members of her community were going wild, as seen in a heartwarming video.
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The accompaniment to Lee’s routine, a rousing piece by pop violinist Lindsey Stirling, added to the atmosphere.
After the team final on Monday, Stirling posted an emotional video on TikTok of her reaction to Lee on floor, explaining that she “wrote this song about perseverance; about having the courage to push through self-doubt and obstacles.”
“Suni is the perfect person to embody this message,” she added.
Lee announced in April 2023 that she was ending her college career at Auburn early due to kidney disease. She underwent treatment and entered remission, revealing earlier this year that there had been times during the process when she couldn’t bend her knees or squeeze her fingers, and that she had lived in constant pain.
“Now, I realize I’m a lot stronger than I think,” Lee said in an interview shared earlier this week by NBC Sports. “I cannot believe that I made my second Olympic team. It still doesn’t feel real.”
“It’s just absolutely incredible after the year that I’ve been through,” she added.
