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Tokyo Olympics 2020 all-around champion Suni Lee recently lauded her compatriot Skye Blakely for her sensational performance during the Winter Cup 2024.
Both Blakely and Lee competed in the senior women’s event at the Winter Cup which took place on February 24 at the Freedom Hall in Louisville.
Skye Blakely performed exceptionally in every apparatus and clinched two medals, a gold in the balance beam (14.500) and a silver in the all-around, gathering an overall 54.650 points.
Blakely, the two-time world champion in the team event, posted a few pictures after the competition with the caption:
“Winter cup🩵proverbs 3:5”
Proverbs 3:5 states ‘Trust in the LORD with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding’.
Lee cheered on Blakely for her recent exploits at the Winter Cup 2024 and replied:
“So proud of you skye !!💛💛”
On the other hand, Suni Lee had a completely contrasting outing at the Winter Cup. She struggled on her much-anticipated comeback as she faltered twice while performing on the uneven bars where she aimed to execute the “Full Twisting Jaeger”. The technique is slated to be named after her if she implements it perfectly in an elite event.
She fumbled once again during her performance on the balance beam. She collected an all-around score of 24.700, with 11.800 on uneven bars, and 12.900 on the beam.
Post her disappointing result, Suni Lee spoke about her performance in an interview with USA Today:
“It obviously wasn’t what I wanted. But in all honesty, I think it’s good it happened here rather than somewhere else because you can’t get anywhere without failing. I’m going to be mad about it for a really long time, but it’s OK.”
She concluded by adding what her longtime coach Jess Graba told her:
“Like Jess [Graba] was saying, you would way rather want to do it here rather than at the Olympics. That’s something to remind myself of. Also, I haven’t been training that long.”
Suni Lee is the first Olympian of Hmong-American descent
Suni Lee is the first Olympian with Hmong-American ancestry. With her all-around crown at the Tokyo Olympics 2020, she became the first Asian-American woman to claim the title.
In addition, Lee is reported to be the first woman of Asian descent to accomplish this gold-medal-winning feat in the discipline. Lee's gold was the nation’s sixth overall and fifth consecutive in this event in the Summer Olympics.
