Olympic gymnast Sunisa “Suni” Lee just joined the ranks of some of her fellow Team USA gymnasts by getting her Olympic rings tattoo in August 2021, following her first Olympic games alongside Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, MyKayla Skinner and Grace McCallum.
Suni revealed via Instagram that she had gotten the rings tattooed on the outside of her right forearm — which is the same placement of Simone’s rings tattoo that she got after competing in Rio in 2016.
Earlier the same month, Jordan revealed that she and the rest of her teammates would be taking the plunge to get the traditional tattoo. “I think all of us,” she told People during an interview. “All of us. Yeah, I think we are all. Except for Simone, because she already has one.”
Grace added, “I don’t think we’re going to get it together because we all live in different states. But we’re all talking about getting it after and what place we’d get it or different areas.” She noted about her right forearm, “I was wanting to get it like here where Simone has it.” Clearly, Simone is a leader and trendsetter among her teammates.
The gymnastics prodigy stunned the world when she withdrew from several competitions in Tokyo this year while suffering from the “twisties,” an unsafe phenomenon where the athlete loses awareness in mid-air. She later revealed that, additionally, her aunt passed away midway through the competition. “I was like, ‘Oh my God. This week needs to be over,’” Simone’s coach Cecile Canqueteau-Landi previously revealed. “I asked her, ‘What do you need?’ And she said, ‘I just need some time.’ I said, ‘You call me, text me if you need anything I’ll be here. Whatever that is.’ She called her parents. She said, ‘There’s nothing I can do from over here. So I’m just going to finish my week and when I get home we’ll deal with it.’”
Team USA collectively took home the silver medal for their efforts, while Simone ended up securing a bronze medal on balance beam. As for her teammates, Suni took home a gold medal in the all-around competition and a bronze medal on the uneven bars. MyKayla also won a silver medal on vault.
“Not at all how I imagined or dreamed my second Olympics would go but blessed to represent the USA,” Simone wrote via Instagram after returning to Texas. “I’ll forever cherish this unique Olympic experience. Thanks everyone for the endless love and support. I’m truly grateful. Leaving Tokyo with [two] more Olympic medals to add to my collection isn’t too shabby! Seven-time Olympic medalist.”
Scroll through the gallery below to see Team USA’s tattoos!