Suni Lee Celebrates Being Named to 2021 'TIME100' List: 'No Way!'

Gold medalist Suni Lee made history at the Tokyo Games as the first-ever Hmong American Olympic gymnast

Suni Lee finds out she's on the 2021 Time 100
Photo: Time Twitter

Suni Lee is jumping for joy after being named one of TIME magazine's 100 Most Influential People in the World.

On Wednesday, after TIME released the full roster of honorees — which includes the 18-year-old Olympic gymnast alongside Billie Eilish, Naomi Osaka, Dr. Anthony Fauci, Prince Harry and Meghan Markle and more — the outlet shared a video of Lee reacting to the happy news.

"No way!" Lee says in the clip, leaping into the air, after her sister reveals the honor.

Lee, the first-ever Hmong American Olympic gymnast, won three medals during the Tokyo Games: a gold in the individual all-around; silver with Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum during the team final; and bronze in the uneven bars.

Sunisa Lee of Team United States poses with her gold medal after winning the Women's All-Around Final on day six of the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games at Ariake Gymnastics Centre on July 29, 2021 in Tokyo, Japan.
Suni Lee. Jamie Squire/Getty

She was selected for the annual list thanks to her Olympic performance that "cements her legacy" and "signifies representation."

"This milestone has and continues to inspire the Hmong community," fellow Olympic champion Nastia Liukin wrote for TIME. "But it also sends a simple yet powerful message to underrepresented people everywhere: Dream big because anything is possible."

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Lee has been open about her experience representing the Hmong community. She told PEOPLE in June that her history-making accomplishment "means a lot to the Hmong community ... and to just be an inspiration to other Hmong people [means] a lot to me too."

Though it's been over a month since she returned home from the Tokyo Games, the elite gymnast has still been pretty busy post-Olympics.

Along with heading off to Auburn University for her freshman year of college, last month, Lee was confirmed as a contestant on the upcoming 30th season of Dancing with the Stars, kicking off Sept. 20 on ABC.

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