Suni Lee is opening up about her recent health scare. The 20-year-old Olympic-champion announced her retirement from Auburn University’s gymnastics team in April, revealing that she was dealing with a health issue involving her kidneys. Keep reading to find out more… On Thursday (November 16), Suni spoke with USA Today about her how she has navigated her health challenges this year.
The Olympic gold medalist revealed that she gained 45 pounds as a result of her illness. “I couldn’t fit into any of my clothes,” she said. “My eyes were swollen shut.
It was just so scary.” Suni explained that she has been “feeling good” in recent months despite facing many hurdles earlier this year. “I haven’t had a really bad day in a while,” she added. “But in the beginning it was like I was waking up swollen.
My fingers were so swollen they wouldn’t fit into my grips and I couldn’t hold on to the bar. My whole body was swollen because I was retaining water, so I couldn’t do a flip. … So it was really different and I had to learn how to work through it.” Suni returned to competition in August, and even though she declined a U.S.