Glamour has named St. Paul gymnast Suni Lee one of its women of the year, the online magazine announced Thursday. “Being at the Olympics really made me fall back in love with the sport,” the 21-year-old said in a feature written by contributing editor Emily Tannenbaum. Lee spoke to Tannenbaum about competing in the Olympics, her insecurities, her friendships and her battle with two undisclosed types of kidney disease. Lee also revealed a previously unknown fact about the latter. “Nobody knows this, but the week before the Olympic trials, I had to get an infusion because I went into a relapse,” Lee said. It worked, as Lee not only made it to the Olympics, she helped Team USA take home the gold while picking up two bronze medals on her own. Lee shared the story of her diagnosis. Last year, she was studying at Auburn University when she woke up one morning with a swollen face and body. During practice that day, she realized she couldn’t lift her own body: “It literally felt like I had an eight-pound vest on, and I was trying to chuck myself over the bar.” A doctor told Lee it could be allergies, but Lee’s rapid weight gain made her realize it was much more serious. “I wasn’t able to go to the bathroom,” she said. “I couldn’t bend my legs because they were so swollen, and my fingers too. My eyes were almost swollen shut. I was like, ‘Something is happening.’ ” After trying every allergy medication on the market and finding no success, she talked to the USA Gymnastics’ co-head physician, who helped her get tested and diagnosed her with kidney disease. She moved home to St. Paul to recover. Once she was well enough to start training again, she found it more difficult than expected. “Bars, floor, and vault were really hard for me because I couldn’t even walk up a flight of stairs. My coaches would have buckets ready to go for when I needed to throw up because my medicine made me so nauseous,” she said. After competing at the US Classic that August, her health took a downturn that led to her taking another six months off. In January, her condition had stabilized and she began training again, just seven months before the 2024 Paris Olympics. She did not say what type of infusion she received, but that it made a “world of a difference” and helped her to secure her spot on Team USA: “I was able to do everything that I was supposed to do.” Personal tidbits Suni Lee takes a moment to enjoy the cheers after she completed her floor routine at the United States Women’s Olympic Gymnastics trials finals at the Target Center in Minneapolis on Sunday, June 30, 2024. (John Autey / Pioneer Press) Elsewhere in the Glamour story, Lee talked about mentoring 16-year-old Hezly Rivera (she told her teammate “You can laugh a little in the gym. It doesn’t have to be serious all the time.”), worrying that her fall during her beam routine on her final day at the Olympics would become a meme (she made one herself on TikTok: “I can make fun of myself because at the end of the day, it’s just a competition.”) and her recent move to New York City (“I don’t know anybody in New York. So yeah, I’m scared.”). As for the 2028 Olympics, Lee wouldn’t commit, but said if she does, she doesn’t want it to be a big story. “I’d just want to work my butt off in the gym every single day and get everything that I deserved at the Olympics. You know? It shouldn’t be deeper than that,” she said. Lee joins fellow Olympians Serena Williams and Allyson Felix, a quartet of famous moms (Tina Knowles, Donna Kelce, Maggie Baird and Mandy Teefey), a trio of actresses (Pamela Anderson, Taraji P. Henson and Sydney Sweeney) and a pair of abortion activists (Hadley Duvall, Kaitlyn Joshua) as Glamour’s women of the year.Related Articles Health | St. Paul rape case dismissed after man’s indeterminate civil commitment for being mentally ill and dangerous Health | ‘I guess I’m the problem’: Mixed reaction to city’s anti-roadway giving signs Health | Margaret Crimmins Mason: Looking for joy? Unity? Optimism? It’s here on Saturday. Health | New St. Paul dance class encourages caregivers to move with their babies Health | ‘A Prairie Homeless Companion’ from zAmya Theater starts touring Friday in St. Paul