NOTE: Watch gymnastics again at the Olympics in primetime on NBC 5 starting at 6 p.m. CT.
As she stepped up to the bars for her third attempt at a medal-worthy performance in the 2024 Olympics, Suni Lee was seen whispering something to herself.
Words of affirmation.
What exactly she says isn’t entirely clear, but Lee can be seen whispering phrases like “you’ve got this” before she began her medal-winning performance.
Lee has said similar things to herself each time she steps up to compete.
Before her floor routine in the women’s individual all-around final, Lee was seen telling herself “You got this… last one… this is for me… last one ever.”
Lee was the United States’ only chance at a gymnastics medal on Sunday and she delivered with her third medal at the 2024 Olympics.
Minnesota’s Lee has medaled in every event she’s competed in so far, securing gold in the team all-around final, bronze in the individual all-around final and another bronze in the uneven bars final.
Lee finished the uneven bars with an incredible 14.8 final score, enough to put her on the podium in an event that even gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles didn’t qualify in.
The medal marks Lee’s sixth of her Olympic career, and puts her in the same place she finished in Tokyo.
The crowd roared as Lee finished her exceptional routine and learned she was officially in podium position.
“I’m so happy this time around,” Lee told reporters after her finish, near tears.
Lee acknowledged just had much she went through to make it to the Games, let alone another individual medal, having overcome kidney disease and undergone only half a year of training to make it to another Olympics.
“I told myself that I wasn’t going to cry after my bar routine… I’ve had to go through so much,” she said, adding “I can’t believe that I’m here.”
This won’t be Lee’s, or the U.S.’ last chance at a gymnastics medal in Paris – and she noted she’s not done yet.
“There’s a lot left. I feel like I have so much more to redeem,” she said.
Team USA’s Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, and Jade Carey delivered spectacular performances to take gold at the women’s gymnastics all-around final Tuesday.
Women’s gymnastics schedule: Beam final on Aug. 5
Biles and Lee will find themselves in the same competition yet again in the balance beam final. The two have been trading off highest scoring beam routines throughout the 2024 season- and this competition is bound to be a nail-biter. Biles took home the bronze medal on the balance beam in both 2016 and 2020. Lee, on the other hand, has not yet medaled in an Olympic balance beam final.
The balance beam final begins at 5:36 a.m. CT on Aug. 5. Streaming begins on E! at 4:45 a.m. CT and at 8:30 a.m. on NBC 5.
Women’s gymnastics schedule: Floor final on Aug. 5
The floor exercise final will be the last event of the women’s gymnastics competition this Olympics. Biles and Jordan Chiles have both qualified.
For a full schedule of what to watch and which channel each event will air or stream on, click here.