Tokyo Olympics: Hmong-American gymnast Sunisa Lee makes history after pushing superstar Simone Biles at trials

Lee has earned a spot on the US gymnastics team and will become the first Hmong to represent the US at the Olympic Games

Many Hmong emigrated to the US in the 1970s and 1980s but the community has for years struggled with economic insecurity

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Sunisa Lee in action on the uneven bars during the US Olympic trials. Photo: AFP

Nadia LamandSen Nguyen

Published: 8:00am, 4 Jul 2021Updated: 12:23am, 2 May 2023

Corrected [8:30am, 5 Jul, 2021]

[8:30am, 5 Jul, 2021]
An earlier version of this story incorrectly reported that Katelyn Ohashi had represented the United States at the Olympics. The story has been amended to remove this detail.

Our Tokyo Trail series looks at key issues and athletes in the run-up to the 2020 Olympics, which are scheduled for late July. This is the second in a two-part feature on Asian-American gymnasts who made headlines in the past week.

When Asian-American gymnast Sunisa Lee clinched her spot on the US women’s gymnastics team last weekend, members of the Hmong ethnic minority rejoiced in her historic achievement.

The 18-year-old will become the first member of the community – which has its roots in Laos and China, and numbered about 327,000 in 2019, according to Pew Research Centre data – to represent the US at the Olympic Games. The first Asian-American gymnast to represent the US at the Olympics was Amy Chow.

Lee and her teammates – including superstar Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum – will head to Tokyo later this month with a dream of earning the US its third consecutive Olympic gold medal in the women’s gymnastics team competition. No other country has managed this except the Soviet Union, which won eight straight golds between 1952 and 1980.

Team USA faces strong competition from the Chinese team, which is under pressure after failing to win a single gold medal at the Rio de Janeiro Games in 2016.

The team competition comprises the floor routine, uneven bars, balance beam and vault. Although different members can compete in the same exercise, the final result is tabulated from 12 scores. The gymnasts will also compete in individual medal events.

SCMP Series

Tokyo Trail: key issues surrounding the 2020 Olympics

[ 7 of 19 ]

Tokyo Olympics: Hmong-American gymnast Sunisa Lee makes history after pushing superstar Simone Biles at trials

Lee has earned a spot on the US gymnastics team and will become the first Hmong to represent the US at the Olympic Games Many Hmong emigrated to the US in the 1970s and 1980s but the community has for years struggled with economic insecurity

Lee has earned a spot on the US gymnastics team and will become the first Hmong to represent the US at the Olympic Games

Many Hmong emigrated to the US in the 1970s and 1980s but the community has for years struggled with economic insecurity