Suni Lee shares frame with Minnesota Vikings WR Justin Jefferson during special appearance at State Fair amid gymnastics downtime

Suni Lee shared a frame with Minnesota Vikings wide receiver Justin Jefferson as both attended the Minnesota State Fair. Lee has been away from gymnastics for a significant time and hasn't yet confirmed her return.

Suni Lee, hailing from the Hmong community, was born and raised in Minnesota by her mother, Yeev Thoj, who immigrated to the United States from Laos, and the latter's long-time partner, John Lee. Having shown a flair for gymnastics at an early age, Suni Lee began training under Punnarith Koy at Minnesota's Midwest Gymnastics Center. Since 12, she has been training under Jess Graba at the same facility, later becoming the first Hmong-American Olympian and the first Asian American to win all-around gold at the Tokyo Olympics.

Continuing to stick to her hometown roots, Lee recently attended the Minnesota State Fair, which began on August 21 and will run till September 1, 2025. The Olympic gold medalist chanced upon Justin Jefferson of the Minnesota Vikings at the event and shared a picture of them on her Instagram story.

Lee shares frame with Justin Jefferson at Minnesota State Fair; Instagram - @sunisalee

Jefferson suffered a hamstring tweak during a mid-drill in preseason. His reps have been limited since then, but the Vikings are confident about his Week 1 availability.

Suni Lee was last seen in action at the 2024 Paris Olympics, where she contributed scores to her team's gold finish. She also amassed the all-around and uneven bars bronze medals. Following her success, she received a grand welcome in her hometown, St. Paul, where fans, coaches, and family flocked to congratulate her.

Suni Lee once admitted that she didn't learn how to live without gymnastics

Suni Lee at the Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Celebrates The Launch of the 2025 Issue at Hard Rock Hotel New York - (Source: Getty)

Following the Paris Games, Suni Lee embarked on her journey to pursue fashion in New York. She didn't take the mat in the past year and continues to keep herself away from the sport. However, in a conversation with Hoka TV, the 22-year-old revealed that she didn't learn to function without gymnastics, something she has been associated with for 17 years.

"Trying to learn how to live life without gymnastics has been the hardest thing. I've been doing gymnastics for 17 years, and I've never had a break from it."

Lee then talked about her health setback in 2023 that ended her collegiate career prematurely and almost put a stop to her career.

"I left during my sophomore year because I ended up getting sick with three kidney diseases at the time. Now I have two. It was such a hard moment because I didn't know what was going on. Not knowing if I was ever going to do gymnastics again."

Lee has been embracing a multifaceted journey, engaging in media responsibilities, modeling, brand endorsements, and others.

About the author

Agnijeeta is a US Olympics journalist at Sportskeeda. She holds a Master’s degree in English and has worked as a school teacher, a blogger, a content writer and a sports writer over the past 5 years. A lover of high-adrenaline track and field events, she was also a sprinter during her school days.

Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone happens to be her favorite Olympian, and the athlete’s feat of breaking four records within 13 months inspires her, apart from the American's body language on and off the track. Grant Hackett swimming with a partially dysfunctional lung and winning gold in Athens is her all-time favorite Olympic moment.

Agnijeeta believes that deriving of unique angles from podcasts and interviews carried out by Olympics.com, along with hype-building of potential Olympic events on social media can help fill the coverage gap during the off season.

When not at her work desk, Agnijeeta likes to sing and paint. She also plays string instruments like guitar and ukulele and is an avid player of word puzzles.

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Edited by Agnijeeta Majumder