Suni Lee reveals advice she’s given to Jordan Chiles amid USA gymnast’s Olympics bronze medal controversy
Suni Lee has taken a break from gymnastics after winning team gold for the US at the Paris Olympics, but she is still keeping an eye on teammate Jordan Chiles amid the emotional fallout from the bronze medal controversy.
“I’ve been trying to make sure she’s doing well and she’s realizing she’s absolutely amazing and nothing is going to define her.” Lee told Glamour.
Chiles was recently stripped of the bronze medal she won in the floor exercise at the Paris Games, causing the ailing Olympic gymnast to temporarily withdraw from public life.
Chiles initially finished fifth in the eight-woman final before Team USA coach Cecile Landi appealed Chiles’ score and asked for credit for a maneuver that would increase her score by .1. The appeal was granted, leaving Chiles third. She received the bronze and took part in the medal ceremony after the competition.
However, Romania successfully protested to the CAS that Landi’s appeal had not been made within a minute of Chiles’ score being posted, and the panel has since ruled that the bronze should go to Barbosu. The International Gymnastics Federation restored the original order of finish and the IOC subsequently announced that the bronze would be awarded to Barbosu, who received the medal at a ceremony in Bucharest last month.
(From left to right) Team USA gymnasts Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles, Simone Biles
When asked what she would do if the IOC tried to reclaim Chiles’ physical medal, Lee told Glamor she would “throw it in the ocean or something.”
Although Lee herself had a breakdown the night before the Paris Olympics, Lee admits that Simone Biles helped calm her down.
“It’s like a ritual,” the 21-year-old told Glamor of her regular battle with nerves before big matches.
It was the Chileans who knew what to do.
“She said, ‘I’m going to get Simone,’” Lee said of Chiles.
Lee begged Chiles to let Biles sleep, but Chiles was determined.
“Simone, Suni is panicking,” Lee remembers Chiles saying after knocking on Biles’ door.
And what was Biles’ advice to Lee?
“You have to walk around like you’re the reigning Olympic champion, and you have to own it,” Lee recalled. “You have to remind yourself that you are good enough, and that you are on this team for a reason.”
It obviously helped that Lee was instrumental in Team USA winning gold.