Suni Lee Takes Bronze On Uneven Bars At Paris Olympics

It was worth the wait.

Suni Lee was the final gymnast to perform on the uneven bars final Sunday at the Paris Olympics ― and she deftly added to her medal haul in the City of Light.

With a routine that drew loud applause and smiles from the athlete, Lee took bronze behind the gold of Algeria’s Kaylia Nemour and silver of China’s Qiu Qiyuan.

Lee already had a gold in the team event and a bronze in the all-around. She now has six medals in her Olympics career.

A medal was not a given for the 2021 Olympic all-around champ on Sunday.

Lee, who won bronze on the bars in Tokyo, finished third in qualifying with a 14.866 score in Paris. Her ability to keep cool despite a missed connection in her team event bars rotation scored her a 14.566 and helped the United States to victory.

Entering the apparatus competition, she was not considered the top contender for gold. Nor did she think she was in the running for victory, saying she hoped to medal on the bars and win gold on the balance beam, NBC analyst Laurie Hernandez said during the broadcast.

It happened with a stellar 14.8 score.

The degree of difficulty in her routine was lower than that of a few of her adversaries. So she needed them to make critical mistakes to have a chance. That didn’t happen: Nemour and Qiyuan scored 15.7 and 15.5, respectively.

Lee’s presence at the Games was no sure thing either at one point.

In the wake of her unexpected all-around gold in Tokyo, Lee struggled with life in the spotlight and got hit hard by kidney disease.

That was one well-earned bronze.