At 3 a.m. on Thursday, the daughter of Hmong refugees awoke to the buzzing of her alarm clock.
Mai Vang climbed out of bed, made herself a cup of tea and sat down in front of her laptop.
For the next three hours, while many of her Sacramento friends and neighbors were still asleep, Vang anxiously watched fellow Hmong American Sunisa Lee vie for the most prestigious title in her sport. There were as many tears rolling down Vang’s cheeks as Lee’s when the 18-year-old gymnast clinched the gold medal in the Olympic all-around competition.