- Suni Lee is adjusting to life in New York after moving there after the Paris Olympics
- The winner of six Olympic medals is interested in fashion, and recently met her “queen” Beyoncé at Glamour Women of the Year Gala
- Lee, 21, isn’t thinking about the 2028 Olympics and isn’t currently training, she tells PEOPLE
The winner of the sixth Olympic medal Suni Lee balances with a new life — in New York!
Nearly three months after helping Team USA win gold in the team finals (and winning bronze on bars and the all-around), the gymnast has made the leap to the Big Apple and is targeting new goals outside of the gym. .
“It’s been a lot of fun here,” Lee, 21, tells PEOPLE while discussing her partnership with the free clear laundry detergent. “I’m so grateful to be able to live here and it’s been such an amazing experience to take advantage of all these opportunities, but also to meet so many great people.”
That includes Beyoncé, who she bonded with while being honored GlamourWomen of the Year gala earlier this month – someone Lee says enthusiastically, “I never thought I’d meet.”
Suni Lee Says Paris Olympics Was Her ‘Redemption Tour’: It All ‘Just Means So Much More’ (Exclusive)
“It’s like, queen,” says the Minnesota resident.
To her legions of fans, Lee is the one who has been on the gymnastics throne for a long time.
But after rising to the top of the sport at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics to win gold in the all-around, the gymnast struggled with her health, battling two separate kidney ailments and then her own self-doubt ahead of last summer’s Paris Olympics .
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“I think I’m always very nervous, but I think I was more nervous this time because I had to deal with the pressure of being the reigning Olympic champion, and then with health problems, and then I was just afraid that I wouldn’t be ready,” says Lee for PEOPLE. “I think at the last Olympics I felt a lot more prepared whereas at these games I was rushed and not mentally prepared.”
She adds: “But at the end of the day, it all worked out, thank God, because I was so nervous.”
Lee relied on her teammates, including Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, to open the competition.
“They said, ‘No, you have to come in and act like you’re the reigning Olympic champion, because you look scared,'” Lee recalled hours before the team took the mat at the Bercy Arena in Paris. “And that’s something that stuck with me because I’m like, ‘Oh my God, you’re so right. I’m afraid to be here.’ But we all deserve to be there at the end of the day.”
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Lee has added three Olympic medals to her career, and credits Biles with being an “incredible mentor.”
“I mean, I’ve looked up to her for as long as I can remember, since I’ve been doing gymnastics, especially elite gymnastics, and it’s really cool to see that she’s as good a person as she is an athlete, so to have her on the floor and compete with her was such a dream,” she says.
Lee is now paying it forward by helping to encourage others through his partnership with All Detergents.
Medal number 3! Suni Lee wins bronze in bars final at Paris 2024 Olympics: ‘I’m really proud of myself’
“I think growing up I’ve always had really sensitive skin, so it’s always been really important for me to work on my skincare routine,” shares Lee, who has eczema. “I feel like the one thing I want to achieve by partnering with them is to empower those with sensitive skin to live with confidence and share that your skincare can start at the laundromat, because I didn’t know that. So whenever I started doing it and it helped me a lot, I felt it was something I had to share, especially because I’m always sharing makeup and skincare tips.”
A self-proclaimed fashionista, she’s living her new life in the big city — where she’s not currently practicing gymnastics — “day by day,” Lee tells PEOPLE.
“I’m just living my life,” she says. “I’ve never really been without gymnastics, so this is completely new to me, and I’m still figuring out the routine and learning all the positions, but it’s been a lot of fun.”
The past few years have been frenetic for Lee. Since her health is good, the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles are not even on her mind, she admits.
Lee is focusing on a different path for her immediate future — which could include a foray into the world of fashion — but she’s also enjoying what she’s accomplished.
“It was crazy,” she says. “I mean, I’ve literally been traveling everywhere, so I really haven’t had time to just kind of settle in. But looking back, I’m very proud of myself for making the team. It’s been such a crazy year, so I’m really, really proud of myself.”
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Source: HIS Education