Suni Lee couldn't contain her excitement on meeting and receiving a hug from American singer-songwriter Beyonce. Lee attended the Glamour Women of the Year awards, which were graced by multiple renowned and accomplished women, including Pamela Anderson, Tina Knowles, Donna Kelce, Demi Lovato, and legendary sprinter and tennis player Allyson Felix and Serena Williams, respectively.
Lee was one of the eight honourees for Glamour magazine’s Women of the Year for 2024. The American gymnast made an unlikely comeback this year at the Paris Olympics after navigating two kidney-related health issues.
She bagged three medals at the French capital, including a gold medal in the all-around event and two bronze medals in the all-around and uneven bars events. To recognize her outstanding efforts she was celebrated alongside other accomplished women on the esteemed list.
In a delightful moment at the event, she encountered Beyonce and the two engaged in a joyful conversation while sharing smiles and hugs. Lee's joy was palpable, radiating her excitement. The Glamour magazine shared a video of the gleeful moment and wrote:
"This clip of #Beyonce and #SuniLee hugging is going to live rent-free in our heads forever."
Lee reshared the video and wrote:
"U guyyssss i cannot breathe stop."
While the gymnast opted for a cute shimmer dress, Beyonce donned a pink long dress.
"You don’t know what I’ve had to go through to get this freaking bronze medal" - Suni Lee expresses her satisfaction in earning third place at the Paris Olympics
Suni Lee clinched a gold medal in the all-around event at the 2020 Tokyo Games. Three years later, at the Paris Games, she bagged a bronze medal in the same event.
However, her bronze medal victory holds equal significance to her gold medal win, considering that just a year ago, her return to the Olympic Games seemed impossible due to a kidney issue, which also forced her to end her collegiate career prematurely.
In an interview with Glamour.com, she highlighted her struggles and conveyed her joy in bagging the bronze medal despite others' failure to appreciate it.
“Not many people get to come here (Olympics) twice and compete with the best of the best," she said. "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.”
Suni Lee added:
“People are like, ‘You shouldn’t be happy. It’s a bronze medal,’ But I’m like, ‘You don’t know what I’ve had to go through to get this freaking bronze medal.’”
Apart from her gold medal, Lee also collected a silver and a bronze medal in the team and uneven bars, respectively.