‘Happy tears’ flow in Suni’s hometown

MINNEAPOLIS — There were cheers and screams and “happy tears” for one of their own, and unending delight for what many saw as an “Only in America” story.

Suni Lee captured the women’s all-around gold medal at the Tokyo Olympics on Thursday, a triumph that wowed all of Minnesota but carried special resonance in the state’s close-knit Hmong American community.

“I can’t find the words to express how happy we are, how important that was to me and my family and to the whole Hmong community throughout the world,” John Lee, father of one of the brightest lights now in Tokyo, told The Associated Press. “We never expected gold, but she came through. She did it.”

That she did, and dozens of her family and friends gathered early in the morning at a suburban St. Paul event center to watch.

Suni got an opening when reigning Olympic champion Simone Biles withdrew from the all-around competition to focus on her mental health. There was nervous silence at the watch party as Lee turned in a brilliant set on uneven bars, a nervy performance on beam and a well-executed floor exercise.

When Rebeca Andrade of Brazil stepped out of bounds twice during her floor routine, John Lee said, everybody knew his 18-year-old daughter would be wearing gold.

“It was neck to neck going to that last event, and when she pulled it off, my mind, just oh my God, is this really real?” Lee said.