Suni Lee brought a very special date to the 2025 ESPY Awards. The gymnastics star Suni Lee won the 2025 ESPY Award for Best Comeback Athlete. She took the stage and thanked those who supported her through a difficult chapter in her life: the doctor who stood by her after she was diagnosed with two rare kidney diseases.
As she accepted the award at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, Lee gave a heartfelt shout-out. “To Dr. Marcia Faustin – she’s actually here in the crowd with me today,” Lee told the cheering audience. “Thank you for guiding me through the toughest moments, reading every scan and report by my side.”
Dr. Faustin, who joined Suni Lee at the awards show, specializes in family and sports medicine. She also serves as an assistant clinical professor at the University of California, Davis. She is also the co-head team physician for UC Davis Division I athletics and the USA Gymnastics women’s national team.
Faustin has worked closely with the U.S. women’s gymnastics team. She travelled with them to both the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and the 2024 Paris Olympics. Lee earned one gold, one silver, and one bronze medal in Tokyo. The gymnast followed that up in Paris with another gold and two bronze medals.
Kidney Diagnosis
Earlier this year, Lee opened up about her kidney diagnosis in a deeply personal essay for Women’s Health magazine. In the March 2025 piece, she reflected on how the illness changed her perspective.
“Before I got sick, I didn’t really know anything about kidney disease other than that it was a serious illness,” she wrote. “It never occurred to me that it could happen to someone my age or someone as healthy and fit as I was.”
She added, “Kidney disease cannot be cured. One of the hardest parts about living with kidney disease is knowing that I will have it for my whole life. It will never go away, and I have to face the fact that I will never be the same Suni I was before everything happened. But kidney disease can be treated, especially if you get an accurate diagnosis.”
Suni Lee rocked the red carpet in a stunning golden Oscar de La Renta gown featuring a high slit and sequins.
