Suni Lee says competing alongside Simone Biles, her longtime role model, 'pushed me to be the best version of myself'
- Suni Lee had a number of role models inspire her to become an all-time gymnastics great.
- One such role model — gymnastics GOAT Simone Biles — became her teammate at the Tokyo Olympics.
Suni Lee knows just how important it is to have role models to look up to — especially in the world of sports.
The 19-year-old American gymnast, who surged to an all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics, has credited much of her remarkable success to a handful of women who "inspired me to want to be like them or want to be better for myself." Nastia Liukin and the entire USA Gymnastics team that shined at the 2008 Beijing Olympics came to mind, as did another American legend you may have heard of.
"I would say Simone Biles was obviously one of them," Lee told Insider. "She's the GOAT [greatest of all time] of gymnastics."
After years of admiring the seven-time Olympic medalist from afar, Lee had the privilege of competing alongside Biles at the Tokyo Olympics last year. At first, the Minnesota native admitted to feeling "starstruck" and thinking "it was insane" to just be in the same vicinity as the most decorated gymnast in World Championships history.
And true to her own definition of a role model, Lee said that witnessing Biles' intense "work ethic" was enough to motivate her to be great, too.
"When I was at the Olympics, my coach and I noticed that when I worked alongside her, I was constantly getting better," Lee said. "You see how she does things, and it's like, 'I wanna be like her,' so it really pushed me to be the best version of myself."
Now that she's achieved world-renowned success of her own, Lee is making sure to lead by example and serve as a role model to others. The rising sophomore at Auburn joined tennis legend Serena Williams and high school basketball star Hansel Enmanuel as part of Gatorade's "Fuel Tomorrow" campaign.
Together, the trio aims to help aspiring athletes see people like themselves represented at the highest levels of sport.
"It's really cool to see brands using their platform to amplify diverse role models," Lee said. "And then just being featured alongside Serena Williams and Hansel Enmanuel in these commercials is also super cool because they are amazing athletes."
You can read more about Gatorade's efforts to make sports more accessible on the brand's website, and check out Lee's "Fuel Tomorrow" campaign spot below: