As the Americans waited for their scores to come in during the All-Around gymnastics finals on Thursday afternoon, South Carolina basketball coach Dawn Staley was waiting as well.
She wanted to see Suni Lee earn a medal.
Staley tweeted as much, snagging a quick gif of Lee and posting it with the caption: “SUNI went to work! Come on and medal her!! #ParisOlympics2024”
Lee would land an excellent floor routine, one that saw her score vault to the top of the leaderboard at the beginning of the fourth and final rotation. The score would hold up well enough to earn Lee a bronze medal, coming three years after she had won gold in the All-Around at Tokyo.
But once Lee had a chance to settle down and check her phone, she had another surprise waiting. She saw Dawn Staley’s tweet. Suffice it to say she was more than a little pumped. Check it out below.
Dawn Staley, of course, wasn’t done there, though. She wanted Lee to know she was feeling the exact same way.
“That’s me (fangirling) with you!” Staley wrote on Twitter in a response. “Super proud of you! Love that medal smile!! Keep me great, SUNI!!!”
With her bronze medal in the All-Around competition, Lee became the first American to medal in the All-Around competition at two separate Olympic games. She was joined in that feat just moments later by her teammate, Simone Biles.
Biles, the 2016 All-Around champion in Rio, claimed the gold on Thursday in Paris. That came on the heels of a highly successful team showing.
The United States of America was led in the Team All-Around to a gold medal by Biles, Lee and Jordan Chiles. Jade Carey contributed on the vault in that win while Hezly Rivera rounded out the team. Despite competing in every event during the Team All-Around, Chiles was not able to compete in the Individual All-Around, as every country can only advance two gymnasts.
Coming into the Individual All-Around, Biles was looking to once again establish herself as the best gymnast in the world. She certainly accomplished that. Her medal today was her ninth in the Olympics over the years.
Dawn Staley had plenty to root for and be proud of, to be sure.
On3’s Dan Morrison also contributed to this report.
Add comment