The Queen. Determination, tenacity and resolve can only begin to describe Suni Lee’s path to Paris. She’s a true artist and has lifted the sport to new heights throughout her career. With her trademark beauty and poise, exceptional grace, execution and style, her presence on the competition floor is the essence of women’s artistic gymnastics.

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This year, the emotion brought forth in her floor performance also told us so much about her journey, bringing us to tears the first time we saw it. The song choice, “Eye of the Untold Her” by violinist Lindsey Stirling, absolutely could not have been a more perfect backdrop for Suni’s story, and brought the crowd at the 2024 Olympic Trials to their feet as she made her second Olympic dream come true.

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Stirling herself exclusively told PEOPLE magazine how Lee chose the song for her routine. “Back in January, I actually reached out to Suni via Instagram to see if she was looking for floor routine music,” Stirling said. “When she said she was, I shared a link to my unreleased album. Outside of my direct management team, she was the first person to hear my whole album. She wrote me back saying she was going to use ‘Eye of the Untold Her.’ ”

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The violinist was also “stunned” by the announcers in Paris shouting out her name before Lee’s performance, which Stirling documented in an emotional reaction video on Instagram.

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“I watched Suni’s floor routine in the team all around from my tour bus,” she said. “My dancers and I stayed on the bus to cheer her on. Once she started performing, I got super emotional. Tears were streaming down my face the whole time.”

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Stirling also told PEOPLE she chalks up her reaction to being a longtime gymnastics fan and knowing Suni’s comeback from being sidelined due to her kidney disease. “She is a warrior, and she’s overcome so much to get back to the Olympics,” she says. “Suni truly embodies the message of what my song was written about, and she performed it so magically.”

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Soaring to Olympic gold in Tokyo in 2021, Suni became an overnight sensation. She brought new eyes and new excitement to collegiate gymnastics in 2022, competing for Auburn, and raising the level and awareness of the sport everywhere. Overcoming illness in 2024 after a tumultuous 2023 and against what seemed insurmountable odds, she’s now a two-time Olympic All-Around medalist, her legacy among the best ever secured forever. When it came time to decide, Suni Lee was, without question, our unanimous choice for our 50 Most Artistic Class of 2024 Cover.