Hmong-American Olympic Champion Sunisa Lee Looks Toward College

Hmong-American Olympic Champion Sunisa Lee Looks Toward¹ College

Olympic gymnastics champion Sunisa Lee's life changed when her new gold medal was placed around her neck Thursday.

Her future plans, however, have not changed.

Lee narrowly defeated Brazil's Rebeca Andrade for the gold medal in the women's all around.

Just one day after her victory, Lee said she is ready to start her student life at Auburn University in the southern U.S. state of Alabama. She plans to compete for the college's gymnastics team.

First-year students are expected to report to their dormitory rooms on August 11. Lee told The Associated Press she plans to be there.

"(College) just has been another one of my dreams and goals after the Olympics," the 18-year-old said Friday. "So, I feel like if I were to going to go pro², it would have to be like something like really good," she added.

To "go pro" means to become a professional athlete. Until recently, going pro was the only way Lee could have accepted major product endorsements⁴.

The past four Olympic champions in the women's gymnastics all-around have been American: Carly Patterson, Nastia Liukin, Gabby Douglas and Simone Biles. They, like Lee, were teenagers at the time of their victories.

None of them competed in college sports. Instead, they chose to go professional to make money from their newfound fame. But things were different then. Gymnasts had to choose between high-paying endorsements and college sports scholarships.

However, recently passed legislation⁵ permits college athletes to make money off their name, image and likeness⁶.

There will be no shortage⁷ of possibilities for Lee to earn money. She is the first Hmong American to win an Olympic medal. She has huge support from the Hmong community in the United States and around the world.

Whatever comes next, however, she plans to be competing for Auburn's gymnastics team next spring.

The move to college gymnastics should be easy. Lee's longtime trainer Jess Graba and Auburn gymnastics coach Jeff Graba are twin brothers.

Jeff Graba said Lee can compete in college while also enjoying the financial rewards from being a gold medalist in one of the most popular Olympic sports. That is something no other American Olympic champion has been able to do before.

When she starts her college life in Alabama, Lee will leave behind her family and Hmong community in the state of Minnesota.

There are about 250,000 Hmong people in the United States. Most live in California and Minnesota. The Hmong community came to the U.S. as refugees⁹ in the late 1970s, mostly from Laos, at the end of the Vietnam War.

Lee's victory caused widespread celebration in Minnesota. The state's governor¹⁰, Tim Walz, and St. Paul Mayor¹¹ Melvin Carter declared Friday "Sunisa Lee Day."

Lee's parents and family members joined a huge crowd of supporters in Minnesota Thursday to watch Lee compete. Her family could not travel to Tokyo because of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Her father, John Lee, told the AP, "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."

He added, "We never expected gold, but she came through. She did it."

Lee Pao Xiong is director of the Center for Hmong Studies at Concordia University in St. Paul, Minnesota. He said Lee represents a special kind of American.

"You have the child of a refugee⁸ representing the United States of America, so not only representing America, but bringing the spotlight¹² to the Hmong community," Xiong said. "Even for her to be so proud to say ‘I'm doing this for my community, I'm doing this for my people,' she didn't forget her Hmong-ness."

Words in This Story

gymnastics - n. a sport in which athletes are judged on how well they perform various physical exercises on a mat or on special equipment

dormitory – n. building on a school campus¹³ that has rooms where students can live

teenager – n. someone between the ages of 13-18

endorsement³ – n. a public or official statement of support or approval¹⁴, sometimes for payment¹⁵

scholarship – n. an amount of money that is given by a school, an organization, etc., to a student to help pay for the student's education

spotlight – n. attention

1 toward   

prep.对于，关于，接近，将近，向，朝

参考例句：

• Suddenly I saw a tall figure approaching toward the policeman.突然间我看到一个高大的身影朝警察靠近。
• Upon seeing her,I smiled and ran toward her. 看到她我笑了，并跑了过去。

2 pro   

n.赞成，赞成的意见，赞成者

参考例句：

• The two debating teams argued the question pro and con.辩论的两组从赞成与反对两方面辩这一问题。
• Are you pro or con nuclear disarmament?你是赞成还是反对核裁军？

3 endorsement   

n.背书；赞成，认可，担保；签(注)，批注

参考例句：

• We are happy to give the product our full endorsement.我们很高兴给予该产品完全的认可。
• His presidential campaign won endorsement from several celebrities.他参加总统竞选得到一些社会名流的支持。

4 endorsements   

n.背书( endorsement的名词复数 )；（驾驶执照上的）违章记录；（公开的）赞同；（通常为名人在广告中对某一产品的）宣传

参考例句：

• He must make much money on those tennis shoe endorsements he does. 他替那些网球鞋珍重广告，就赚了不少钱。 来自互联网
• But celebrity endorsements remain an important promotional tool for marketers. 尽管如此，邀明星助阵仍是营销人员重要的推广手段之一。 来自互联网

5 legislation   

n.立法，法律的制定；法规，法律

参考例句：

• They began to draft legislation.他们开始起草法规。
• The liberals band together against the new legislation.自由党员联合一致反对新的立法。

6 likeness   

n.相像，相似（之处）

参考例句：

• I think the painter has produced a very true likeness.我认为这位画家画得非常逼真。
• She treasured the painted likeness of her son.她珍藏她儿子的画像。

7 shortage   

n.缺少，缺乏，不足

参考例句：

• The city is suffering a desperate shortage of water.这个城市严重缺水。
• The heart of the problem is a shortage of funds.问题的关键是缺乏经费。

8 refugee   

n.难民，流亡者

参考例句：

• The refugee was condemned to a life of wandering.这个难民注定要过流浪的生活。
• The refugee is suffering for want of food and medical supplies.难民苦于缺少食物和医药用品。

9 refugees   

n.避难者，难民( refugee的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The UN has begun making airdrops of food to refugees. 联合国已开始向难民空投食物。
• They claimed they were political refugees and not economic migrants. 他们宣称自己是政治难民，不是经济移民。

10 governor   

n.统治者，地方长官(如省长，州长，总督等)

参考例句：

• The governor was an expert at fencing with reporters.这位州长是搪塞新闻记者的能手。
• He was elected governor of the state of California.他当选为加州州长。

11 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

12 spotlight   

n.公众注意的中心，聚光灯，探照灯，视听，注意，醒目

参考例句：

• This week the spotlight is on the world of fashion.本周引人瞩目的是时装界。
• The spotlight followed her round the stage.聚光灯的光圈随着她在舞台上转。

13 campus   

n.大学校园，学校校园；大学　

参考例句：

• They spoke of the old days on the campus.他们谈起昔日的校园生活。
• The campus covers an area of twenty square kilometres.这个校园占地二十平方公里。

14 approval   

n.赞成，同意；批准，认可

参考例句：

• The audience has expressed its approval.观众已经认可。
• The teacher signed his approval.老师做了手势表示同意。

15 payment   

n.付款，支付，偿还，偿还，报应

参考例句：

• I gave ten pounds in payment for the goods I bought.我买那些东西付了10英镑。
• This last payment will wipe out your debt to me.这最后一笔付款将了结你欠我的债务。