With Biles Out, Sunisa Lee Seizes the Moment and Captures Gold

The victory for Lee, 18, resonated deeply back home in Minnesota, particularly with the state’s Hmong American community, in which she was raised.

TOKYO — For years, the gymnast Sunisa Lee wasn’t training just for herself. Lee, a Hmong American from Minnesota, went to the gym every day for all the people whose parents had immigrated to the United States with nothing after escaping war zones. She endured grueling, painful practices to honor her father, John, who put her in the sport when she was 6 and who now uses a wheelchair because of a spinal cord injury. Lee, 18, had said publicly that her goal was to win silver in the all-around competition at the Olympics, because her teammate Simone Biles was considered a lock for gold.