Who is Laurie Hernendez?
Laurie Hernandez grew up in Old Bridge, New Jersey. She started gymnastics in 2005 after she stopped loving ballet. She progressed through the skill levels very quickly and had her first junior elite competition in 2012. She once said, “I was just a kid excited about something!” This references just how much love she put into the sport. Her biggest life lesson was that you should always actively go after the things that you love. She got her fame from first being a part of the Final Five in the 2016 Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Her and her teammates came home with the gold medal for Team USA! She also silver medaled on the balance beam there. Hernandez was the first U.S. Latina gymnast to qualify for the Olympics. She took a little break from gymnastics after the 2016 Olympics. During this time she took part in Dancing with the Stars. She won the Mirrorball with her partner Val Chmerkovskiy. She was the youngest winner on the show, being only16 years old at the time! She speaks out for athletes' mental health and sticks up for athletes. She has released two books both of which have common titles, “I got This” and “She’s got this.” They are tributes to her childhood and include her biography. Today she is currently 23 years old and has been doing lots of gymnastics commentary for elite and college gymnastics events.
Her Big Accomplishments:
- She is an olympic gold medalist at the 2016 Olympics!
- She has written two books!
- She is the Season 23 Mirrorball winner on Dancing with the Stars!
