The turning point came when a family friend introduced them to Puner Koy, a coach at Midwest Gymnastics. “We just set up an appointment to go meet up with Puner and they tested her a little bit, and then he said, ‘OK, we’ll just keep her,’” Yeev explained.

From that moment, Suni began training at Midwest under the guidance of coaches Koy, Alison Lim, and her head coach, Jess Graba. However, the transition from living room acrobatics to a structured training program came with its challenges.

“It’s not quite as natural since she started so late and she had a lot of crazy schoolyard stuff when she came in,” Jess mentioned when Suni was 14. “You kind of had to retrain her a little bit. But at the same time, she’s so talented she’s able to pick up on it,” Jess continued.

Despite these initial hurdles, Suni’s progress was remarkable and swift. At seven, she won the all-around at a state meet, only her second competition. By eight, she had advanced three levels in a single year.

In the USA Gymnastics Junior Olympic program, there are ten levels, each requiring mastery of specific skills before advancing. Beyond level ten is the elite program, where gymnasts compete at world championships and the Olympics.