Gold medalist Sunisa Lee surprised by statue unveiling at Phalen Park
St. Paul’s gold-medal-winning gymnast Sunisa Lee made history with her win at the 2020 Olympic Games. On Sunday — the day after the two-year anniversary of her victory in Tokyo — she was honored with a permanent marker in her home city.
Dozens turned out to celebrate and surprise Lee during the unveiling of a bronze bust at Phalen Regional Park that honors her contributions to gymnastics, culture and Hmong American history.
Gov. Tim Walz declared Sunday to be Sunisa Lee Day in Minnesota, and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter also designated it Sunisa Lee Day in the capital city.
The unveiling was attended by Lee, her parents and siblings, as well as the artist and dozens of supporters, and it took place along the trail behind the Phalen Activity Center parking lot. Lee did not know that the piece was being created and had no idea what it looked like until Sunday.
When the blue tarp covering the statue was lifted, Lee put her hand over her mouth in surprise and said, “It’s incredible! I love it. I give it a 10,” she said, a nifty play on words for the gymnast. A 10 is a perfect score in gymnastics, and Lee recently ended her collegiate career with a total of eight 10s.
Lee spoke after the unveiling and said she was truly honored.
“I keep thinking that what I do is what I love, which is gymnastics,” she said. “it was a dream to one day make it big and go to the Olympics.”
She said she was “truly blessed” with all the support from the community.
“I wouldn’t be here without you guys — from you selling T-shirts and coming to fundraisers and helping with everything and contributing to all of this …. It’s just such an amazing community that I’m so grateful to be a part of. I want to thank my biggest supporters, which are my parents, my family, my coaches and most of all this community,” Lee said. “I’m very excited for this coming year, and I hope I can continue to go out there and do what I do best. I hope to be an inspiration and an advocate for the next generations and other amazing athletes. Thank you again. I’m so excited and I’m super happy. I love it. It’s beautiful. Thank you.”
Lee, 20, became the first Hmong American Olympian when she earned a place on the 2020 U.S. Olympic women’s gymnastics team, then made further history by winning the individual all-around gold medal during the Tokyo Games, which were held in 2021 after being postponed because of the pandemic. She also earned a bronze medal in the uneven bars and a silver medal in the team competition. She followed that by enrolling at Auburn University, and at the 2022 NCAA Championships she won the balance beam and finished second in the all-around. Her sophomore season was interrupted by a kidney issue, and after its completion Lee announced her intention to train for the 2024 Paris Games and end her career at Auburn.
Her father, John Lee, said he was “so proud” of his daughter, that the unveiling was a “historic moment” and that the statue would mark that moment for many years to come.
The artist is Seexeng Lee, a family member who said it was a once-in-a-lifetime moment.
“Thank you, Sunisa for being my inspiration — no, for being our inspiration and a role model for Hmong everywhere. No, I misspoke, for being an inspiration for all of us. You are a gift. This is a gift for you,” he said.
Carter said that to the rest of the world, Lee is “the champion,” but in St. Paul she is “our” champion.
“You make St. Paul proud,” he said. “Thank you for that.”
Carter shared a story that illustrates Lee’s nature, beginning when he was waiting in the airport with dozens of others as she returned from the Olympics.
“The most incredible thing that happened that day really wasn’t the roar of the crowd as Sunisa Lee came out of the airport,” he said. “The most incredible thing to happen that day was that our champion who had just (stepped off a long international flight), who had the weight of the world and the eyes of the world on her, was the last person to leave the airport that day.”
Instead of rushing home, she “saw an airport terminal full of young children with Olympic dreams and made sure to stop and smile and shake hands and take pictures and sign autographs and hug and encourage every single one of them,” he said.
Lt. Gov. Peggy Flanagan read a proclamation declaring the day Sunisa Lee Day in Minnesota and said that Lee became a dream realized for people from St. Paul, for the Hmong community and for young people around the world.
Lee is the second female athlete to be permanently honored within the St. Paul Parks system, joining female baseball player Toni Stone, whose name adorns Toni Stone Stadium.
