Suni Lee announces gymnastics return 2 years ahead of LA Olympics

July 14, 2026 | 4:50 PM

Sunisa Lee prepares to perform her routine during the Artistic Gymnastics, Women’s Balance Beam Final at the Bercy Arena during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on August 5th, 2024, in Paris, France. (Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)

(NEW YORK) — Olympian Suni Lee is officially returning to competitive gymnastics.

The 23-year-old made the announcement in a video shared Tuesday on her Instagram page that featured clips of her from past practice sessions and in competition.

“I know what I’m capable of. I’m willing to do whatever it takes to get there,” Lee can be heard saying in a voiceover.

The end of the short video also included a message, which read: “This is more than a comeback, stay tuned.”

Lee’s announcement comes two years ahead of the start of the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics.

USA Gymnastics celebrated Lee’s return in its own Instagram post. “The journey continues! Welcome back, Suni!” the organization captioned the post, re-sharing Lee’s video.

Fellow gymnasts and Olympians also shared excitement for Lee’s big news.

“She’s back!!!!” Jordan Chiles wrote in a comment.

“yesssss,” Hezly Rivera added.

Lee, a two-time Olympian, has won six medals in her Olympic career so far, including two gold medals, one silver medal and three bronze medals. She specializes in the uneven bars and became the first American woman to win two medals in uneven bars at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Lee has also been public about getting treatment for two rare kidney diseases. In 2025, she even brought one of her doctors as her guest to the 2025 ESPY Awards.

When she was honored with the 2025 ESPY for best comeback athlete, Lee gave Dr. Marcia Faustin, co-head team physician for the USA Gymnastics Women’s National Team, a shoutout in her acceptance speech.

“Thank you for guiding me through the toughest moments, reading every scan and report by my side,” Lee said.

Copyright © 2026, ABC Audio. All rights reserved.

Trump needs to get tough on China to get tough on Iran’s economy. He’s been reluctant to do that

By CNN
August 26, 2026 | 5:00 AM

(CNN) — The Trump administration appears to have landed on a fallback strategy in the Iran war after military strikes and negotiations failed to deliver victory: threats of harsh economic sanctions.Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has called them the “toughest sanctions in history,” which will “collapse this regime.” He’s even called it an “economic D-Day” for Iran, comparing it to the historic invasion of Nazi-occupied France during World War II.There’s just one problem: Making good on those tough words requires not just getting tough on Iran, but also getting tough on China, which is Tehran’s No. 1 trading partner.And Trump and his administration have proved quite reluctant to do that.When Bessent rolled out the economic strategy Monday, he didn’t name specific countries that would be punished — or lay out timelines — if they don’t cut ties. And the announcement notably did not include secondary sanctions on the large Chinese banks that facilitate Beijing’s purchases from Iran.China buys as much as 90% of Iran’s oil. Economic analysts have told CNN that targeting these banks and Chinese companies would be crucial to exacting a major toll on Iran’s economy.But not for the first time in recent days, Bessent punted on exactly what would be done on that front. He suggested messages were being sent — saying “no one is above the reach of US sanctions” — but didn’t detail what will happen with China.“If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted,” Bessent said. “We find that the best way to engage with countries is through quiet diplomacy.”He added: “So when the hammer of US Treasury actions falls upon them, they will have no one to blame but themselves.”But you could be forgiven for thinking this might be lots of sound and fury signifying relatively little.That’s because not only has the administration regularly backed off the threats it’s made in the Iran war, but it has a track record of treading gently around China, whose leader, Xi Jinping, is set to visit the White House next month.While Trump has made a big show about getting tough on China over the years, he backed off his trade war with Beijing in October, agreeing to a one-year truce. That followed shortly after Beijing upped its leverage by restricting access to critical rare-earth minerals and halting purchases of American soybeans.Trump last year also ignored federal law to help save the Chinese-owned video app TikTok, despite his first administration having labeled it a grave national security threat because of its ability to spy on Americans.Fast forward to Trump’s visit to China in May, and rather than pressing Xi publicly on a potential invasion of Taiwan, Trump made some major Taiwan-related rhetorical concessions.He also backed off his previous promises to get China to free Jimmy Lai, a former Hong Kong media tycoon who criticized the Chinese Community Party, as well as to ban Beijing from buying American farmland and to “aggressively” revoke Chinese student visas.By July, Trump delivered a primetime address in which he claimed China effectively interfered in the 2020 US election (which is not what the evidence actually showed). But rather than punish China for this seemingly major purported provocation, Trump downplayed the need for retaliation.The president seemed to prefer to use China to try to substantiate his still-baseless claims of stolen elections, without going to the trouble of holding the alleged thief accountable.And even in the context of the Iran war, Trump has been gentle with China.He has repeatedly shrugged off the idea that Beijing is helping Iran. And on his way back from China in May, he said he was considering lifting sanctions on Chinese companies that buy Iranian oil.Trump at the time was trying to secure a deal with Iran. But it’s telling that he’s been willing to telegraph potential carrots involving China, even as his administration is reluctant to publicly threaten to use the stick against it. In the latter case, it prefers “quiet diplomacy.”Also telling would seem to be Bessent’s comments Monday when CNN asked why the major secondary sanctions he previewed didn’t start immediately.“Well, we are giving everyone the opportunity to remedy bad behavior,” he said. “Why would I want to blow up the global financial system?”The administration appears well aware that getting tough on Iran would entail going after China — a risk that it might decide isn’t worth it.There’s an argument to be made that these topics are best addressed next month, during Xi’s state visit to Washington.But such pomp and circumstance can drain Trump of his resolve to get tough (as seen during his May visit to China) — and that’s if he even wants to get tough on China right now.The-CNN-Wire™ & © 2026 Cable News Network, Inc., a Warner Bros. Discovery Company. All rights reserved.

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