Laurie Hernandez

Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000) is an American retired artistic gymnast. During her debut year as a senior gymnast, she competed as a member of the U.S. women's gymnastics team dubbed the "Final Five" that won the team gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Individually, Hernandez earned the silver medal on the balance beam. She took a break from gymnastics and returned to training in late 2018 to earn a spot on the 2020 Summer Olympics team, but she did not qualify for the Olympic Trials.

Hernandez was first added to the U.S. gymnastics national team in 2013 and began competing in international competitions that same year. After missing the 2014 season due to injury, she won the junior all-around title at the 2015 U.S. Championships. In addition to winning Olympic gold, Hernandez also won team gold medals at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy and 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.

Outside of gymnastics, Hernandez has appeared on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016, where she won the competition along with partner Valentin Chmerkovskiy. Hernandez hosted the first season of American Ninja Warrior Junior as the on-course reporter and starred as Valeria in the Nickelodeon animated miniseries Middle School Moguls. She is the author of two books, I Got This: To Gold and Beyond, a New York Times Bestseller, and She's Got This, a children's book.

Hernandez was born on June 9, 2000, in New Brunswick, New Jersey, and is the daughter of Wanda and Anthony Hernandez. Her grandparents moved from Puerto Rico. She has a sister, Jelysa, and a brother, Marcus. She took ballet lessons when she was four, but she asked her parents to switch to gymnastics when she was five. She was homeschooled through the Abeka Academy distance-learning program.

At the 2012 National Qualifier held at the Karolyi Ranch, Hernandez won the bronze medal in the all-around behind Veronica Hults and Maggie Nichols, and her scores qualified her for domestic elite competitions. Later that week at the American Classic, she finished eighth in the junior all-around. She then competed at the U.S. Classic, where she placed 11th in the junior division. Through the Classic, she qualified for the U.S. Championships in St. Louis, where she placed 21st after two days of competition.

Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around at the 2013 WOGA Classic. In June, she competed at the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas. There, she placed first on floor exercise, second in the all-around behind Ariana Agrapides, and third on balance beam and vault. Following a national training camp, in July 2013, she was added to the U.S. junior national team. She then went to Chicago for the U.S. Classic, where she placed sixth all-around and won the floor exercise title. At the National Championships in August, she won the silver medal in the junior all-around competition with a total score of 116.650, behind Bailie Key. She also placed second on uneven bars and floor exercise, and tied for third on beam with Alexis Vasquez.

Hernandez was selected to represent the U.S. at the Junior Japan International in Yokohama in September 2013. She scored 56.750 to win the bronze medal in the all-around. She also took third on vault, fourth on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. In November, she competed at the International Junior Mexican Cup in Acapulco alongside Bailie Key, Veronica Hults, and Emily Gaskins, and they won the team gold medal. Individually, Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around behind Key.

In early 2014, Hernandez fractured her wrist when she slipped off the beam in a training session. Later that year, she dislocated her kneecap and tore her patellar tendon. She resumed training in the fall and attended the final U.S. training camp of the year in November.