Tribute to Sunisa Lee

Floor Speech

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Ms. SMITH. Madam President, I am just delighted to be here today on the floor of the U.S. Senate with my colleague Senator Klobuchar to offer my heartfelt congratulations to Sunisa Lee of St. Paul, MN, who won Olympic Gold in the individual all-around event in women's gymnastics in Tokyo this week.

Suni gave a historic performance while under immense personal pressure and under the difficult circumstances that have defined the 2021 Olympic Games. But she stepped up, and she gave an astounding performance to bring home gold, continuing the American tradition of excellence in women's gymnastics. Her routine on the uneven bars, as Senator Klobuchar said, one of the most difficult ever attempted in women's gymnastics, was just stunning.

On her way to Olympic Gold, Suni faced really tremendous obstacles. After beginning her gymnastics training at age 6, Suni showed incredible dedication, focus, and drive to reach the elite levels of her sport despite injuries and personal challenges.

In 2019, her father was paralyzed in an accident but continued supporting his daughter's gymnastics career. And while continuing her training during the coronavirus pandemic, Suni suffered a broken foot, an Achilles tendon injury, and the tragic loss of her aunt and uncle to coronavirus.

While pandemic precautions meant there were no spectators to cheer her on in Tokyo, Suni's family, friends, community members, and gymnastics fans all over the country got together to cheer her on from afar with watch parties held in her honor. The videos of these gatherings show the incredible shared joy and pride in her incredible accomplishment, and I am sure that she could feel all that love and support as she competed in Tokyo.

Not only is Suni the youngest member of the U.S. women's Olympic gymnastics team, but she is also the first Hmong American on the U.S. Olympic team and now is the first Asian American to be the Olympic women's all-around champion.

Her leadership and sportsmanship are an inspiration, and Minnesota is so proud to call her one of our own. In fact, Minnesota's Governor, Tim Walz, and St. Paul's mayor, Melvin Carter, have announced that today, Friday, July 30, 2021, is ``Sunisa Lee Day.'' It is too bad that Ms. Klobuchar and I can't be there to help them celebrate in St. Paul.

I also wanted to take this opportunity to congratulate those who contributed to Suni's victory: her parents, John Lee and Yeev Thoj, and her coach, Jess Graba. After Suni won her gold, she reminded us all that no one achieves success alone as she said, ``This is my family's medal, my medal. My coach's medal.''

Madam President, in this moment, I also would like to take an opportunity to acknowledge the awe-inspiring leadership of Simone Biles. Her choice to withdraw from the all-around event in order to protect her health and safety was courageous and is an important reminder that mental health is an essential part of our overall well- being.

In addition to being the greatest of all time, Simone's powerful advocacy and her unwavering support for Suni and the rest of her team show that she is also a great team player and an activist.

Every Olympic medal represents untold hours of hard work and struggle and resilience, and Suni Lee's all-around gold is no exception.

So congratulations to Suni. We are all so proud of you. Thank you for your courage, your dedication, and your inspiration to all of us everywhere in this country.

BREAK IN TRANSCRIPT

Source