After being diagnosed with two rare kidney diseases in 2023, Suni Lee feared she might never compete again. But just six months before the Paris Olympics, she was cleared to return to training and went on to win 3 Olympic medals. Following the Paris Games, Lee took a break from gymnastics. Then, on July 14, 2026, she announced her return, confirming that she is targeting a third Olympic appearance at the LA 28 Games. This time, though, the opportunity means more than ever.

Just a day after announcing her comeback, Lee attended the 2026 ESPY Awards in New York City. Walking the red carpet at the David H. Koch Theater at Lincoln Center on July 15, the 6x Olympic medalist opened up about why she decided to return for another Olympic cycle. “Honestly, I just felt like I had so much more in the tank, and I’m just really excited to show everybody because I feel like the last Olympics, with my kidney disease.”

She further added, “I didn’t really get a full chance to, I guess, compete at my full potential. And I think this time around, I want to give myself that chance,” Lee said.

While Lee’s kidney disease is now being managed and remains in remission, she has previously revealed that her condition is incurable. Even so, she has recovered well enough to resume elite training. With nearly 2 years remaining until LA28, Lee will have something she did not have before Paris: time. Time to build routines, increase difficulty, and prepare without the uncertainty that surrounded her comeback in 2024.

And if there is one Olympic goal that she might want to win, it could be the balance beam. As at the Tokyo Olympics, Lee entered the beam final fresh off her all-around gold medal victory. She looked poised for another podium finish before a major balance check on her aerial layout step-out series cost her valuable points. She finished fifth with a score of 13.866.

Three years later in Paris, Lee once again reached the beam final as a medal contender. This time, a fall near the end of her routine dropped her to sixth place with a score of 13.100. Despite her success elsewhere, an Olympic beam medal has remained elusive.

Her longtime coach, Jess Graba, has acknowledged that the event still lingers in Lee’s mind. “She felt like she was a medalist on beam, and we didn’t get one,” Graba said. “So I think she’d like to rectify that.”

But while Lee has officially committed to another Olympic run, the future of her Paris teammate Simone Biles remains uncertain.

Biles was also in attendance at the 2026 ESPY Awards in New York City, where she served as a presenter and won both Best Athlete in Women’s Sports and Best Championship Performance. Yet despite her continued presence in the spotlight, she has not revealed whether she plans to return for the LA 2028 Olympics.

Since winning 4 Olympic medals in Paris, Biles has not returned to elite competition. Still, she has not announced her retirement. When asked about a potential comeback, Biles acknowledged that she remains undecided. “I feel like we’re still at a 50-50.”

While Biles has yet to determine whether she will compete again, she has said she expects to be part of the LA Olympics in some capacity, whether that’s on the competition floor or cheering from the stands.