Suni Lee discusses Olympic return after kidney disease diagnosis, ESPYs Comeback Athlete nomination

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Suni Lee was oh so close to not competing in the Paris Olympics last year.

In April 2023, Lee announced that she was going to end her Auburn career due to a kidney issue, and Auburn doctors would not clear her.

Lee gained 45 pounds, her eyes were "swollen shut," and she "couldn't do a flip."

"My fingers were so swollen, they wouldn’t fit into my grips, and I couldn’t hold on to the bar," she said back in November 2023.

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Suni Lee of the United States competes during the Artistic Gymnastics Women's Team Final on day four of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena in Paris on July 30, 2024. (Aytac Unal/Anadolu via Getty Images)

In a recent interview with Fox News Digital, Lee actually "quit" gymnastics "a couple times."

"I told my coach I don’t want to do this anymore… There were many times where I didn’t want to do this anymore, or I just doubted myself more in the process. I think even as close as like Olympic Trials I was doubting myself," Lee said.

However, after going through an incredible grind, Lee was in Paris and won three medals - the entire team won gold, and Lee herself went bronze in the all-around and uneven bars.

More recently, she was nominated for, and won, the Best Comeback Athlete at the 2025 ESPYs on Wednesday night.

"It is incredible, and it is such a surreal feeling just because I know how hard the journey was, so to be here is pretty incredible on its own, and I am just really excited for tonight and to be with the other nominees," Lee said.

In attending the award show, she teamed up with Raising Cane's, who helped her get ready for the occasion.

Raising