September 2, 2021
Simone Biles Gifts Olympic Teammate’s Dad With a Special Surprise
Simone Biles created a special moment for her Olympic teammates’ father.
Biles teamed up with the Today show and gifted her teammate Sunisa “Suni” Lee’s dad John a wheelchair.
The Olympic superstar appeared on a video message to present him the gift. She said, “Hi, Mr. Lee, it’s Simone. I love your daughter, Suni, so much and I know how much she loves you,” she said in a video John watched from a tablet. “You have done so much for her so I reached out to my friends at the Today show to see if we could do something special for you. Hope you like it.”
Olympic gold medalist Suni Lee’s heartwarming reunion with her family on our plaza after the Tokyo Olympics inspired Simone Biles to ask TODAY’s help in coming up with a big surprise for Suni’s dad, John, who was paralyzed two years ago. @NMoralesNBC has the details. pic.twitter.com/kXcA3FQsJa
— TODAY (@TODAYshow) September 1, 2021
Lee’s family were in on the surprise. Outside they carried signs saying ”We love you!” and “Thank you!” Next to them stood a man with an electric wheelchair–fitted with a bow–from Quantum Rehab custom-fitted for Lee and his needs.
“Oh, my God. Oh my, that is awesome,” Lee said.
Lee suffered a spinal cord injury in 2019 after he fell off a ladder while trying to help a friend trim a tree, according to Today.
He has been using a manual wheelchair all this time, and often required assistance from Suni’s brother, Lucky.
“Well, this is amazing. Thank you, guys,” Suni’s father exclaimed to the people standing there.
Olympian Suni, 18, had an emotional reunion on Today with her family in August after she won three medals: a gold in the individual all-around; silver with Biles, Jordan Chiles and Grace McCallum during the team final; and bronze in the uneven bars.
“I want to tell her team that no matter what, you all support her and I want to tell Simone that she truly is the GOAT because she let my baby girl bring the gold medal,” he said at the time.