At Minneapolis-St. Paul Airport, a warm welcome home for Olympic gymnast Suni Lee

Cheers, bouquets and hugs greeted Olympic gymnast and St. Paul native Suni Lee as she landed back in the Twin Cities from the Paris Games on Sunday, laden with fresh medals.

Lee smiled and hugged friends and family at Minneapolis-St. Paul International Airport, posed for selfies and signed autographs for her admirers.

“It really inspires me,” said Ariana Katz, 10, a gymnast from Eagan. She got autographs from Lee and one of her coaches and, in turn, gave her a friendship bracelet.

After seeing Lee compete at the Olympic trials in June in Minneapolis and watching her on television in Paris, Ariana said she was even more excited to practice and compete.

About 50 people, including young gymnasts, U.S. Sen. Amy Klobuchar and St. Paul Mayor Melvin Carter, cheered every time the doors swung open as they waited for Lee, giddy with anticipation.

“Welcome! Spend money!” Carter shouted to a few arriving travelers.

He and other greeters cheered as airport workers walked through the gates before Lee appeared.

Others were caught up in the enthusiasm. On a balcony overlooking the ticketing lines, travelers stopped and pulled out their phones; some joined the welcoming party.

Cheers echoed through the terminal when Lee appeared. Airport police and TSA agents joined her whooping fans, and cellphone cameras snapped.

Hmong community leaders from St. Paul and the east metro, including state Rep. Kaohly Vang Her, DFL-St. Paul, joined the celebration.

But the loudest cheers came from a group of gymnasts from Midwest Gymnastics, the Little Canada center where Lee came up — and still sometimes trains, said Jillian Doherty, the gym’s director of operations.

“The girls know her pretty well, and they’re super happy she was able to go and have her goal accomplished,” Doherty said.

The gym organized early-morning watch parties during the Olympics to see Lee’s events live from Paris. They watched Lee win two bronze medals in individual events and saw her share in a team gold with Simone Biles and the rest of the U.S. women’s gymnastics squad.

The younger gymnasts were watching a hero, Doherty said, and also a friend.

“When she’s in the gym, she’s like any other gymnast,” Doherty said of Lee. “She sits and eats snacks with them. She’s just like one of the group.”

The Olympian smiled as she moved through Sunday’s crowd, thanking people for their support.

As Lee left the airport through a gantlet of selfies, Doherty said her gymnasts wondered about what’s next for their hometown star — and they don’t mean the 2028 games.

“They were like, ‘Do we get to see her tomorrow?’”