Title
Celebrating Olympian Sunisa Lee and Proclaiming Sunday, July 30, 2023, as Sunisa Lee Day in the City of Saint Paul.
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WHEREAS, Sunisa “Suni” Lee is an East Side Saint Paul native who was born March 9, 2003, and first began training as a gymnast at 6 years old; and
WHEREAS, Suni dedicated 12 years of her love and passion to gymnastics, where she trained at the Midwest Gymnastics Center in Little Canada, Minnesota, which catapulted her into a national and international gymnastics champion; and
WHEREAS, Suni went on to compete alongside the United States Women’s Gymnastics Team at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games for which she won Gold in the Individual All-Around Competition, Silver in the Team All-Around Competition, and Bronze in the Women’s Uneven Bars, and became the first Hmong American Olympian on July 29, 2021; and
WHEREAS, Suni was named the 2021 Sports Illustrated Female Athlete of the Year; and
WHEREAS, Suni enrolled at Auburn University in Auburn, Alabama, where she had the most decorated year in Auburn history during her freshman debut for which she was named the 2022 NCAA Champion for Beam and the SEC Champion for Bars, earned 18 total event titles in 2023 during her sophomore year, and ended her collegiate gymnastics career with a total of 8 perfect 10’s; and
WHEREAS, Suni was named the 2022 Sportswoman of the Year by the Women’s Sports Foundation; and
WHEREAS, Suni’s drive and tenacity is not only idolized by many budding and accomplished gymnasts and athletes alike, but also many St. Paulites and Hmong Americans, and especially her loving parents Yeev and John and her five siblings Shyenne, Josh, Evionn, Lucky, and Noah; now therefore be it
RESOLVED; that the Ward 6 Office of the Saint Paul City Council, St. Paul Parks and Recreation, and the St. Paul Parks Conservancy plants a bronze bust of Sunisa Lee at Phalen Regional Park to honor her contributions to gymnastics, popular culture, and Hmong American history; and be it further
RESO...
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