Suni Lee is opening up about her recent health scare.
The 20-year-old Olympic-champion announced her retirement from Auburn University’s gymnastics team in April, revealing that she was dealing with a health issue involving her kidneys.
On Thursday (November 16), Suni spoke with USA Today about her how she has navigated her health challenges this year.
The Olympic gold medalist revealed that she gained 45 pounds as a result of her illness.
“I couldn’t fit into any of my clothes,” she said. “My eyes were swollen shut. It was just so scary.”
Suni explained that she has been “feeling good” in recent months despite facing many hurdles earlier this year.
“I haven’t had a really bad day in a while,” she added. “But in the beginning it was like I was waking up swollen. My fingers were so swollen they wouldn’t fit into my grips and I couldn’t hold on to the bar. My whole body was swollen because I was retaining water, so I couldn’t do a flip. … So it was really different and I had to learn how to work through it.”
Suni returned to competition in August, and even though she declined a U.S. team selection camp invite for the world championships, she affirmed that she plans to train for the 2024 Olympics in Paris.
“Obviously the Olympics are always going to be in the back of my head,” she explained. “But I wake up every morning and I’m not like, ‘Today’s going to get me to the Olympics.’…I’m not trying to think too far ahead. because that can just add a lot of unwanted pressure and stress.”
