St. Paul to host parade Sunday for Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee

ST PAUL, Minn. — Suni Lee's homecoming will extend through the weekend with a parade in her honor Sunday afternoon in St. Paul.

St. Paul's Mayor Melvin Carter told reporters at the airport that the parade will take place from 3 to 5 p.m. along White Bear Ave. on the city's East Side.

For more information on the parade, you can visit VisitSaintPaul.com/Suni.

A large crowd welcomed home the St. Paul native and Olympic teammate Grace McCallum Thursday afternoon at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport. Lee captured three medals in gymnastics at the Tokyo Olympics, including a gold in the individual all-around competition.

Lee and McCallum came together with Team USA to win the silver medal in the team competition, while Lee also took bronze in the uneven bars.

"We definitely feel the love and support. This is absolutely amazing," said Lee on Thursday before a large crowd at MSP. "Amazing to see all of your faces and to be here all together. That's pretty crazy. Thank you for everything. Minnesota represent!"

Thursday morning on the TODAY Show, Lee's mom, dad and siblings Jonah and Shyenne waited with Hoda Kotb and Savannah Guthrie on the plaza to see their gold medalist.

Once she came out, Lee walked straight into her dad Houa John Lee 's arms for a big hug.

"You did great," he told her while they embraced. "You did it."

Suni, who is the first ever Hmong-American Olympic gymnast, has said her family and Minnesota's Hmong community have played a huge role in supporting her gymnastics career. She's extremely close with her father. “Me and my dad definitely have the closest bond out of everyone in my family,” she told KARE 11 in 2019. That year, John was paralyzed from the waist down after falling from a ladder while helping a friend cut a limb from a tree.

From NBC Olympics: In need of a big routine to keep pace with Rebeca Andrade in the Olympic individual all-around final, Suni Lee did her thing on the uneven bars, earning a huge 15.300.