Suni Lee Details Having Mental Breakdown Night Before 2024 Olympic Team Finals

Hours before Suni Lee helped lead the U.S. gymnastics team to victory at the 2024 Olympics, she was in a state of panic.

The 21-year-old suffered a mental breakdown the night before she, Simone Biles, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles competed in the women’s gymnastics team all-around final July 30, where they and teammate Hezly Rivera ultimately took home gold.

And for Lee, it was her teammates who ultimately helped rally her, with Chiles summoning Biles to give their fellow returning champ a pep talk.

"You need to walk around like you’re the reigning Olympic champion, and you need to own it,’” Lee recalled of Biles’ words in an interview with Glamour published Oct. 3. "'You need to remind yourself that you’re good enough, and you are on this team for a reason.'"

Lee, who noted that she typically has a good cry before a competition, began her 2024 Olympic journey three years after winning her first Olympic gold medal—in the women's all-around gymnastics final, at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.

Per Glamour, she didn't think she deserved that honor, which came after Biles withdrew from the event—something many viewers repeated on social media.

At the 2024 Olympics, Lee went on to win bronze medals in the women's all-around gymnastics final—with Biles winning gold—and in the uneven bars event. But she fell in her last competition, the balance beam final, coming in sixth place.

"That wasn’t how I wanted to end my Olympics in Paris, and I was a little disappointed, but at the end of the day, I was super proud of myself because I made it to the Olympics," Lee said. "I didn’t even think that I was going to be here."

After all, Lee’s return to the mat at the Olympics came after a difficult health battles. In 2023, she was diagnosed with two kidney diseases, which caused her to gain more than 40 pounds from water retention and prompted her to take six months off training before returning to the gym this past January to compete for a place on the U.S. Olympic team.

“Nobody knows this, but the week before the Olympic trials," she said, "I had to get an infusion because I went into a relapse."

Now, after her 2024 Olympic journey, Lee is in a better place in her life.

"Not even just physically but mentally, to where I can accept everything that’s happened," the six-time Olympic medalist said. “Not many people get to come here twice and compete with the best of the best. I just felt absolutely amazing. And now I’ve learned to really take everything in, and I think that’s why I’m so happy with all of my medals."

Look back at some of the most emotional moments at the 2024 Olympics...

Gold medalist Janja Garnbret of Team Slovenia celebrates with silver medalist Brooke Raboutou of Team USA after they completed the women's Boulder & Lead final.

First-time Olympian Sha'carri Richardson of Team USA looks on after winning her first Olympic gold medal by placing first in the women's 4x100m relay final.

Team USA's Tara Davis-Woodhall embraces her husband and Paralympic athlete Hunter Woodhall after winning the women's long jump final. 

Joan Antoni Moreno and Diego Dominguez of Team Spain yell in celebration after the men's canoe double 500m final. 

Spain's Maria Perez and Alvaro Martin pop champagne to celebrate their gold medals. 

Kelland O'Brien of Team Australia is emotional after his team, also including Sam Welsford, Conor Leahy and Oliver Bleddyn, won gold. The Austalian cyclists set a new world record with 3:40.730. 

TEAM USA's Gabby Thomas snaps a selfie with her partner Spencer McManes after winning gold in the women's 200m final. 

Cole Hocker of Team USA celebrates after winning the gold for the men's 1500m. Hocker won by .14 seconds. 

Swedish athlete Armand Duplantis celebrates after setting a new world record in the men's pole vault. 

An Se-young of Korea celebrates after defeating He Bingjiao of China 2-0 in their match. 

Johanne Defay hugs Simon Paillard, her husband and coach, after winning bronze for France. 

Simone Biles hugs an emotional Jordan Chiles after winning bronze for the women's floor routine final, marking Chiles' first individual Olympic medal. 

Britain's Bryony Page is ecsatic after winning gold for the women's trampoline final in gymnastics. 

Team Czechia's Michal Cupr, Jiri Beran, Jakub Jurka, Martin Rubes celebrate after defeating France for the men's bronze medal. 

USA gymnast Simone Biles beams after winning gold in the women's all-around final, sporting her "GOAT" necklace.

Great Britain's Andy Murray—who announced his retirement before the Paris Games—tearfully bids farewell to the crowd after being eliminated alongside Dan Evans in the men's doubles.

Tomokazu Harimoto of Team Japan lets off some steam during his match against China's Fan Zhendong.

Men's 200m backstroke silver medalist Apostolos Christou of Greece gets emotional while standing on the podium.

Spanish tennis Carlos Alcaraz lets out a victorious scream after defeating Tommy Paul of Team USA in men's single.

Great Britain's bronze medalists Andrea Spendolini Sirieix and Lois Toulson share a raw moment after the women's synchronized 10m platform diving final.

Korbin Albert gets emotional after scoring a goal in the women's soccer game.

Team Sweden's Sarah Sjoestroem celebrates her gold medal in the Women's 100m Freestyle Final.

Team USA's Katie Ledecky reacts to winning gold in the Women's 1500m Freestyle Final.

French swimmer Anastasiia Kirpichnikova cries tears of joy after seeing her silver medal-winning time in women's 1500m freestyle event.

Serbia's Nemanja Majdov (L) and Greece's Theodoros Tselidis (R) share a moment after their round in the men's 90kg round of 16 in judo. Tselildis, who beat Majdov, later won the bronze medal. 

Manon Apithy-Brunet (L) kisses her husband France's Bolade Apithy after his team beat Egypt. 

Gold medalist Alex Yee of Team Great Britain and silver medalist Hayden Wilde of Team New Zealand share a subtle celebratory moment after crossing the finish line. 

Team New Zealand leaps for joy after beating Canada in the Women's Rugby Sevens Gold medal match. 

Agustina Gorzelany of Team Argentina celebrates her team's first goal in a match against Spain. Argentina ended up winning the match 2-1. 

Team Guatemala's Adriana Ruano Oliva gets emotional after realizing she's won the gold medal—her country's very first—in the shooting trap women's final. 

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