Eight days into her gymnastics comeback, Suni Lee is already reproducing the exact skill that helped win Team USA Olympic gold. The two-time gold medalist posted a training clip this week showing her hit the aerial cartwheel into a layout step-out combination she used on beam in the Paris 2024 team final.
Her coach frames the comeback as something bigger than a highlight reel. Jess Graba estimates Lee competed at just 65 to 70 percent of her ability in Paris while managing an incurable kidney disease, and the run at Los Angeles 2028 is a bet that a healthier body can finally deliver the rest.
The Eight-Day Return
Lee resumed training July 20 at Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota, the gym where she has trained for most of her career. Eight days later, she shared an Instagram Story clip from inside the gym, captioned simply, “Fun!”
The footage cut out before she landed the second layout step-out, but what aired was enough. Lee is seen firing through the same aerial cartwheel to two layout step-outs she used on balance beam in Paris, the pass that helped clinch the team gold medal and carried into her bronze-medal finishes in the all-around and on uneven bars.
“I’ve kind of gotten my glow back,” Lee told CBS Minnesota at her first practice back, adding that she brings newfound confidence into a bid for a third straight Olympic Games. The comeback itself became official on July 14, when Lee announced in a social media video and press release that she would train for LA28, alongside news that a documentary is being produced about the journey. “I know there’s more in me, and this is my chance to challenge myself, test my limits, and see what I’m truly capable of,” she said in the announcement.
A few things separate this run from her first two Olympic cycles:
- Health status: Lee describes her kidney disease as being in remission rather than actively flaring, a shift from the condition she managed through 2023 and 2024.
- A camera crew: A documentary chronicling her path to LA28 was announced alongside her comeback.
- A specific number to chase: Graba’s estimate that illness limited her to 65 to 70 percent in Paris gives this comeback a concrete target rather than a vague one.
- Restored confidence: Lee says the version of her returning to the gym feels different from the one that gutted out results two years ago.
Suni Lee’s Coach Says Paris Only Saw 70% of Her
Lee left Paris as the third-best gymnast in the world in the all-around and the fourth most-decorated U.S. Olympic gymnast in history, a tally that now stands at six career medals across two Games. That record includes two gold medals: the individual all-around title from Tokyo and the team title from Paris.
Graba, who owns Midwest Gymnastics, does not think Paris showed what Lee is capable of.
She was probably at 65 or 70% of what she can do.
He said that of her performance in Paris, where Lee competed while managing a kidney disease diagnosis on top of the physical demands of elite training. Her full Olympic medal record now spans three Games, and the stated goal for Los Angeles is closing the gap Graba described.
| Olympic Games | Year | Medals Won | Lee’s Physical Condition |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tokyo | 2021 | All-around gold, team silver, uneven bars bronze | Full health, before diagnosis |
| Paris | 2024 | Team gold, all-around bronze, uneven bars bronze | Managing kidney disease; self-rated by coach at 65 to 70% |
| Los Angeles | 2028 (target) | To be determined through qualifying | Kidney disease in remission; training for full strength |
Is Suni Lee’s Kidney Disease Gone?
Not entirely, but it is under control. Lee was diagnosed with two forms of incurable kidney disease in 2023 after waking up with nearly her entire body swollen. She announced remission in April 2024 ahead of Paris, and more recently described her body as healthier and stable heading into this comeback.
The condition first surfaced as a medical mystery. Doctors initially suspected an allergic reaction before Lee developed hot flashes, cold spells, headaches and cramping, along with difficulty urinating that led to a kidney biopsy and her eventual diagnosis.
- February 2023: Lee wakes up with widespread body swelling; doctors initially suspect an allergic reaction.
- 2023: Further symptoms and a kidney biopsy lead to a diagnosis of two forms of incurable kidney disease.
- April 2024: Lee announces her kidney disease is in remission and that she has nearly returned to a full training regimen.
- August 2024: Lee helps Team USA win gold in Paris and adds individual bronze medals in the all-around and on uneven bars.
- July 14, 2026: Lee announces her competitive comeback for LA28.
- July 20, 2026: Lee resumes elite training at Midwest Gymnastics Center.
Simone Biles Just Had Her Own Unexplained Procedure
Lee is not training in isolation from the pressures facing the sport’s other biggest American name. Seven-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles disclosed her own health scare on June 6, describing an experience in which she said she was “almost dying.” She was hospitalized and placed on bedrest.
On July 22, Biles underwent a medical procedure she has not fully explained, posting a photo from what appeared to be a medical office. “His birthday but he takes me to get my procedure,” Biles wrote on her Instagram Story, referring to her husband, NFL player Jonathan Owens.
What We Know:
- Biles was hospitalized June 6 after describing the experience as nearly fatal.
- She underwent a procedure on July 22, accompanied by her husband.
- She has continued making public appearances since the procedure.
What’s Unconfirmed:
- The specific diagnosis behind either the June scare or the July procedure.
- Whether the two events are medically connected.
- Any impact on Biles’ own plans for a possible LA28 return.
Two of the most decorated gymnasts the United States has ever produced are now managing serious, only partly explained health situations while pointed at a home Olympics. Neither has treated it as a reason to stop.
The Coach Placing the Same Bet
Graba and his twin brother, Jeff, opened Midwest Gymnastics Center in 1995, not long after graduating from the University of Minnesota. Jess stayed on as owner and Lee’s primary coach; Jeff now runs Auburn University’s women’s gymnastics program. Jess became a Team USA development coach following the Tokyo Olympics, and his wife, Alison Lim, has also coached alongside him in Lee’s training.
A comeback built around unlocking a further 30 percent of ability is also a bet Graba is placing on his own gym and his own read of an athlete he has coached for most of her career. If Lee’s body allows the training intensity her illness once interrupted, the gym in Little Canada becomes the backdrop for a third Olympic cycle. If it doesn’t, the calculation changes for both of them.
Qualifying for a Third Games Still Isn’t Automatic
The Los Angeles Olympics are set to run July 14 to 30, 2028. Gymnastics is provisionally scheduled for July 15 to 25, with artistic and trampoline events split across two Los Angeles venues, DTLA Arena and the Galen Center.
That does not guarantee Lee a roster spot. Olympic gymnastics teams are set through selection events and national championships held close to the Games, not by career medal counts. Lee will have to prove the extra 30 percent Graba described is real, under the same competitive pressure that decides everyone else’s spot.
She already has six Olympic medals. What she and Graba are betting on is whether a body finally free of what slowed her in Paris can add a seventh that doesn’t come with an asterisk attached.
Frequently Asked Questions
How old will Suni Lee be at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics?
Lee is 23 as of July 2026, which puts her at 25 when the Los Angeles Games open in July 2028. That would make LA28 her third Olympics, following Tokyo in 2021 and Paris in 2024.
When and where is Olympic gymnastics at the 2028 Los Angeles Games?
Artistic gymnastics is provisionally scheduled for July 15 to July 25, 2028, alongside trampoline and rhythmic gymnastics, with artistic and trampoline events set for DTLA Arena and other disciplines at the Galen Center.
Has Simone Biles explained what her July 2026 medical procedure was for?
No. Biles has not disclosed the diagnosis behind the procedure she underwent on July 22, 2026, or confirmed whether it connects to the health scare she described that June, when she said she was “almost dying.”
Who is Suni Lee’s longtime gymnastics coach?
Jess Graba, who co-founded Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota, in 1995, has coached Lee since she was six years old and has led her through all three of her Olympic cycles.
Is Suni Lee guaranteed a spot on the 2028 U.S. Olympic gymnastics team?
No. Team spots are decided through selection events and national championships held closer to the Games, so Lee’s existing medal count does not by itself secure her a place on the LA28 roster.
