By: Kara Fini

In honor of the summer Olympics this past summer, here are some female Olympians from Minnesota.

Suni Lee-

Suni Lee is an American gymnast born in St. Paul, Minnesota. Suni Lee first qualified for the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. In 2021 she won gold all-around, silver for team and bronze for uneven bars. This year, at the summer Olympics, she won bronze all-around and on uneven bars, and gold as a team. Suni Lee became the first Asian American woman to win the all around title and she also was named the Female Athlete of the Year by ‘Sports Illustrated’ both in 2021. She got to compete in her home state this year for the Olympic trials, which were held at Target Center in downtown Minneapolis.

Jessie Diggins-

Jessie Diggins is a Nordic skier born in Afton, Minnesota. She made history in the 2018 winter Olympics with her relay partner Kikkan Randall becoming the first Nordic skier to bring home a gold medal. This race was close between Norway, Sweden and The USA, but in the last 100m Jessie Diggins pulled ahead beating Sweden by .19 millisecond. She also won silver in the 30k freestyle and bronze in freestyle sprint, both in 2022. This winter, Jessie Diggins raced in St. Paul as part of the World Cup. There was an estimate of 40,000 people who showed up over the two days. On the second day, Jessie Diggins got 4th in the long distance. This was very exciting for her since it was in her home state.

Regan Smith-

Regan Smith is a swimmer born in Lakeville, Minnesota. In total, Regan Smith has 8 Olympic medals. This year at the Paris Olympics, she won gold in two relays, and silver in the 200m butterfly, 100m backstroke, and 200m backstroke. In the Tokyo Olympics, Regan Smith won silver in the 200m butterfly and 4×100 relay, and bronze in 100m backstroke. On Friday, October 25th, she broke the world record for the 100m backstroke with a time of 54.41 seconds.