Bronze medalist Sunisa Lee of Team United States looks on from the podium during the medal ceremony for the Artistic Gymnastics Women’s Uneven Bars Final on day nine of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 at Bercy Arena on August 04, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Jamie Squire/Getty Images)
Suni Lee is good at sports. She’s also a very good sport.
The Olympic gymnast poked fun at herself by participating in a viral trend in which athletes share videos showing themselves messing up while competing.
Related: Complete coverage of the Summer Olympics
Typically, the videos are accompanied by a caption to the effect of, “Unfortunately I was not selected for the Olympics.”
But Lee put her own spin on it.
Lee, 21, posted a TikTok video of her falling during Monday’s balance beam final, which prevented her from medaling in the event.
“Unfortunately I was selected for the Olympics,” Lee captioned the clip, which included the “Star Bangled (Bass Boosted)” background music that many have used in the trend.
Of course, Lee has plenty to be proud of from her second trip to the Olympics. The native of Saint Paul, Minn., was a key part of the U.S. lineup that won gold in the women’s team final, and she also took home bronze medals in the individual all-around and uneven bars finals.
She now boasts six Olympic medals, including two golds, having won the individual all-around as an 18-year-old at the Tokyo Games three years ago.
Lee was diagnosed in March 2023 with an incurable kidney disease, which she overcame in order to compete in the Paris Games.
“From being told that I would never be able to do gymnastics again to winning my 5th olympic medal!!” Lee wrote on Instagram after winning bronze in Thursday’s all-around final. She added her sixth medal two days later.
“This medal goes deeper than gymnastics,” she wrote. “I can’t even begin to express how much my health has taken away from me & the strength it has taught me, so to be here is the greatest achievement of all. Grateful for the opportunity to be able to represent team USA at my second olympic games! Thank you for all the support.”
Lee has been active on social media throughout the Olympics. After the team final, she posted a video with Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera in which the gymnasts held their gold medals and lip-synced audio of Kanye West’s 2005 Grammys acceptance speech: “Everybody wanted to know what I would do if I didn’t win. I guess we’ll never know.”
Originally published at Peter Sblendorio