‘The Lee’: Video of Sunisa Lee’s unprecedented bar routine amazes
By Ryan General
January 29, 2024
Olympic gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee has captivated fans online by showcasing a never-before-seen move in her latest bar routine.
Moves like Jaeger: The 20-year-old Hmong American athlete stunned the gymnastics community by sharing a video of her performing a full-twisting laid out Jaeger on the uneven bars, a feat never before accomplished in competition. The classic Jaeger, named after German gymnast Bernd Jäger, who first performed it, involves swinging backward in an L-grip or reverse grip, followed by a front somersault. The version that Lee performed is considered even more difficult due to the additional full twist and the uneven nature of the bars.
Social media reactions: While it remains unclear if Lee intends to perform the move in an upcoming competition, her performance elicited a wave of reactions from fans and fellow gymnasts on social media.
“I audibly gasped, you’re so amazing Suni,” commented American gymnast Maile O’Keefe.
“You woke up and chose chaos today huh,” wrote Australian gymnast Heath Thorpe in jest.
“Wowowowowow,” exclaimed Olympic champ Nastia Liukin.
“I did this once… then I woke up,” joked NCAA LSU gymnast Olivia Dunne.
“Girl omg,” added influencer Bretman Rock.
Codifying “The Lee”: Lee, who became the first Hmong American to win Olympic gold at the Tokyo 2020 Games, is currently gearing up for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games. Should Lee successfully execute the unprecedented maneuver at the upcoming Olympics, or any major international event, it would potentially result in the move being codified in gymnastics’ Code of Points as “The Lee,” according to Olympics.com.
Overcoming challenges: Lee revealed last year how her kidney-related health issues have impacted her training consistency. Her latest training videos suggest she’s taken significant steps toward managing them effectively.
“I could wake up very swollen some days and not be able to put my fingers inside my grips,” Lee was quoted as saying. “It’s really difficult to kind of work through, but on the days that I can do stuff and I am feeling good, I try and take advantage of that and just get everything done.”
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