Sunisa Lee's long road back to the Olympics ended in a familiar spot: the medal stand

PARIS (AP) — Sunisa Lee called coach Jess Graba not long ago and told him it was over.

The process of trying to navigate two kidney diseases that made the 2020 Olympic gymnastics champion's weight yo-yo had become too much. The uncertainty. The frustration. All of it.

Come to the gym, Graba told her. This isn't a decision you make over the phone.

So they sat down and talked. The urge to retire passed. Lee stayed in the gym and slowly — very, very slowly — the skills and stamina that made her the best in the world returned.

Externally, she didn't need validation. Internally, she did. And on Thursday night inside Bercy Arena, the proof was around Lee's neck: a bronze in the all-around that Lee wasn't sure she was worthy of until IOC president Thomas Bach slipped it over her head.

"I just wanted to prove to myself that I could do it because I didn’t think that I could,” Lee said.

Sort of. There is a steeliness to Lee that belies the grace of her gymnastics. She has relied on it for months as she and Graba put together a plan that ended with Lee finishing on the medal stand next to good friend Simone Biles and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade.

Biles and Andrade were expected to be here. They arrived in Paris having faced off in the world championships last fall. Lee didn't make that team. She wasn't ready.

She was in front of a crowd that included the U.S. men's basketball team and Kendall Jenner. Most had turned out to watch Biles. Lee provided them with a reminder that when at her best, she can put on a pretty good show in her own right.

Lee remains a wonder on uneven bars, where she will compete for a medal later in the Games. She'll be in the beam final too, thanks to a series that is a mixture of elegance and athleticism.

Still, floor exercise can sometimes be a challenge. She entered the final rotation off the podium. Graba made things pretty simple.

“Win floor, and you'll win” (a bronze) he told her.

Lee did, in her own way, surging past Algeria's Kaylia Nemour to become the first reigning Olympic champion to medal in the next games since Nadia Comenci did it in 1980.

Heady territory for an athlete who still wonders from time to time how she's going to feel that day. She's stacked more good days than bad, edging teammate Jordan Chiles for a spot in the all-around final, then putting together four routines that were the equal if not better than what she produced in Tokyo three years ago when she edged Andrade in a taut final.

“I did everything that I could,” Lee said. “I went out there and I just told myself not to put any pressure on myself, because I didn’t want to think about the past Olympics.”

There was too much else to think about instead. The stands were packed — unlike Tokyo. Her family was here, too. Unlike Tokyo. And there is a joy in her pursuit of the sport that she wondered if she had lost at times along the way.

She also had Biles. And they relied on each other heavily during a final in which both of them found themselves in positions they didn't want to be in before thriving in the end.

“Having Simone here today definitely helped me a lot because we were both freaking out," Lee said. “And so it just felt nice to know that I wasn’t out there freaking out by myself.”

Ultimately, there was no need. Graba refers to Lee as a “fighter” frequently. That toughness — mental and physical — shone through in a medal that isn't the same color as the one she captured in Japan, but in some ways, no less meaningful.

AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Suni Lee, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

Suni Lee, of the United States, prepares for the floor during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Suni Lee, of the United States, performs on the floor during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Suni Lee, of the United States, celebrates after winning the bronze medal during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel)

Suni Lee, of the United States, performs on the floor during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Natacha Pisarenko)

Suni Lee, of the United States, performs on the balance beam during the women's artistic gymnastics all-around finals in Bercy Arena at the 2024 Summer Olympics, Thursday, Aug. 1, 2024, in Paris, France. (AP Photo/Abbie Parr)

MILWAUKEE (AP) — Bryce Harper hit a tiebreaking two-run homer in the sixth inning to back up the strong pitching of Zack Wheeler and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Milwaukee Brewers 5-1 on Tuesday night in a matchup of division leaders.

Nick Castellanos added a solo shot and Trea Turner went 3 for 5 to help the Phillies move closer to wrapping up the NL East title while delaying the Brewers’ NL Central championship celebration.

The Brewers’ magic number dropped to one with the Chicago Cubs’ 4-3 loss to the Oakland Athletics. The Phillies lowered their magic number for clinching the NL East to four, though their magic number merely to reach the postseason is down to one.

Philadelphia's victory Tuesday gave the Phillies (91-60) the tiebreaker advantage over the Brewers (87-64) as they jockey for potential playoff seeding.

“We needed a win here for sure,” Phillies manager Rob Thomson said. “We'll try and win the series tomorrow, but just getting the tiebreaker over these guys I think is going to be huge coming down the stretch.”

Wheeler (16-6) allowed only four hits and one run in seven innings while striking out six and walking none. Wheeler, who lowered his ERA to 2.56, has worked at least six innings while giving up no more than two runs in each of his last nine starts.

“I just try to go six or seven every time, at least that,” Wheeler said. “If I go more, that's awesome. Try to do that, save our bullpen. It adds up over the season, where they get those innings saved in the bullpen. We need them for this stretch right now.”

Wheeler's 16 wins rank him second in the NL to Atlanta's Chris Sale, Wheeler's main competition for the Cy Young Award.

“He's the Cy Young, man," Harper said. “I said it out there. I don't think anyone in baseball is better than him at this point. I don't think anybody in the National League is, either. People down in Atlanta probably think the same thing about the guy throwing down there. I thought he got robbed of it three years ago (when Wheeler finished second to Corbin Burnes). I believe he earned it this year.”

The score was tied at 1-all until Harper sent a 1-1 pitch from Frankie Montas over the wall in left-center for his 29th homer of the season. Harper’s two-run shot also scored Kyle Schwarber, who led off with an infield single.

Montas (7-11) struck out 10 batters in 5 2/3 innings while allowing three runs, six hits and two walks.

Philadelphia extended the lead to 4-1 in the seventh as Schwarber hit a ball that went off a leg of pitcher Aaron Ashby and headed into shallow right field for an RBI single after Edmundo Sosa's leadoff double.

Turner added a two-out RBI single in the ninth.

“They’ve got two of the best power hitters in the game and a couple of other guys who are among the top hitters in the game, so you can’t give them anything," Brewers manager Pat Murphy said. "You have to keep the pressure on, and we couldn’t do that.”

Castellanos led off the second inning with a 430-foot drive over the wall in left-center for his 21st homer of the season. The Phillies put runners on first and second later in the second before Montas struck out Cal Stevenson to end the inning.

The Brewers tied it in the fourth, as William Contreras singled and scored on Garrett Mitchell’s triple to right center, but the Brewers stranded Mitchell at third.

TRAINER'S ROOM

The Phillies reinstated Sosa from the 10-day injured list and optioned IF Buddy Kennedy to Triple-A Lehigh Valley. In another move, the Phillies sent C Aramis Garcia outright to Lehigh Valley after he cleared waivers. Garcia had been designated for assigment Sunday.

Manager Rob Thomson said OF Austin Hays ran at full intensity Tuesday for the first time since going on the injured list with a kidney infection on Sept. 5. Thomson said the infection has gone away.

UP NEXT

RHP Aaron Nola (12-8, 3.62 ERA) pitches for the Phillies and RHP Freddy Peralta (11-8, 3.75) starts for the Brewers when this three-game series concludes Wednesday night.

AP MLB: https://apnews.com/hub/MLB

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper is congratulated by Nick Castellanos after hitting a two-run homr run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' William Contreras hits a single during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies' Kyle Schwarber hits an RBI single during the seventh inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Matt Strahm throws during the eighth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Garrett Mitchell reacts after hitting an RBI triple during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Garrett Mitchell hits an RBI triple during the fourth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Milwaukee Brewers' Jackson Chourio hits a single during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Philadelphia Phillies Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies pitcher Zack Wheeler throws during the first inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper reacts after hitting a two-run homr run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)

Philadelphia Phillies' Bryce Harper hits a two-run homr run during the sixth inning of a baseball game against the Milwaukee Brewers Tuesday, Sept. 17, 2024, in Milwaukee. (AP Photo/Morry Gash)