Laurie Hernandez facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Laurie Hernandez |
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Hernandez in Phoenix, Arizona, in July 2017
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| Personal information | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Lauren Zoe Hernandez | |||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Laurie, Lo | |||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  United States |
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| Born | June 9, 2000 New Brunswick, New Jersey |
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| Hometown | Old Bridge Township, New Jersey | |||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Manhattan, New York | |||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (155 cm) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International Elite | |||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2012–16 (USA) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Gym-Max Gymnastics (2018–2021), MG Elite (former) | |||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Jenny Liang | |||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach(es) | Maggie Haney | |||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | June 6, 2021 | |||||||||||||||||||
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Medal record
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Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000), known as Laurie, is an American gymnast who is now retired. In 2016, she was part of the U.S. women's gymnastics team called the "Final Five." This team won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. Laurie also won a silver medal for her performance on the balance beam.
After the Olympics, Laurie took a break from gymnastics. She later tried to return to the sport to compete in the 2020 Summer Olympics. However, she faced injuries and did not qualify for the Olympic team.
Laurie first joined the U.S. national gymnastics team in 2013. She won the junior all-around title at the 2015 U.S. Championships. Besides her Olympic success, she also won team gold medals at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy and 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.
Outside of gymnastics, Laurie won season 23 of Dancing with the Stars in 2016. She was also a reporter for American Ninja Warrior Junior and voiced a character in the animated series Middle School Moguls. Laurie has written two books: I Got This: To Gold and Beyond and a children's book called She's Got This.
Contents
Early life
Laurie Hernandez was born on June 9, 2000, in New Brunswick, New Jersey. Her parents are Wanda and Anthony Hernandez. Her grandparents moved to the U.S. from Puerto Rico. Laurie has an older sister named Jelysa and a brother named Marcus.
When she was four, Laurie took ballet lessons. But at age five, she asked her parents if she could switch to gymnastics. She was homeschooled through a distance-learning program called Abeka Academy.
Junior gymnastics career
Starting out: 2012–2013
In 2012, Laurie earned a bronze medal in the all-around at the National Qualifier. This score allowed her to compete in bigger national events. She later finished eighth at the American Classic and 11th at the U.S. Classic. At the U.S. Championships, she placed 21st.
In 2013, Laurie won a silver medal in the all-around at the WOGA Classic. She also earned a gold medal on floor exercise at the American Classic. In July 2013, she was added to the U.S. junior national team. At the U.S. Classic in Chicago, she won the floor exercise title. In August, she won the silver medal in the junior all-around at the National Championships. She also placed second on uneven bars and floor exercise.
Laurie represented the U.S. at the Junior Japan International in September 2013. She won the bronze medal in the all-around. She also took third place on vault. In November, she helped the U.S. team win a gold medal at the International Junior Mexican Cup. Individually, she won the silver medal in the all-around.
Overcoming injuries: 2014–2015
In early 2014, Laurie faced some injuries. She fractured her wrist after slipping off the balance beam during training. Later that year, she dislocated her kneecap and tore a tendon in her knee. She started training again in the fall of 2014.
In 2015, Laurie was part of the U.S. team for the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy. She became the junior all-around champion. She also won gold medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise. At the U.S. Classic in July, she won the junior all-around title. She also won vault and uneven bars.
At the U.S. Championships, Laurie won the junior all-around title. She also won the uneven bars title. She earned a silver medal on floor exercise and bronze medals on balance beam and vault. After this, she competed at the 2015 International Junior Japan Meet. There, she won the all-around, floor exercise, and vault. She also took silver medals on balance beam and uneven bars.
Senior gymnastics career
Making her mark: 2016
Laurie started her senior career in 2016 at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy. The U.S. team won the gold medal. Laurie earned a bronze medal in the all-around. She also won a silver medal on vault and a gold medal on balance beam.
In April, Laurie competed at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. She helped the American team win first place. She placed third individually in the all-around. However, she did not receive an all-around medal due to a rule that limits medals to two gymnasts per country.
In June, Laurie competed at the 2016 U.S. Classic on uneven bars. She placed fourth. Later that month, she competed at the U.S. Championships. She finished third in the all-around. She also placed third on uneven bars, balance beam, and floor exercise.
At the Olympic trials in July, Laurie placed second in the all-around. She was then chosen for the Olympic team. She decided to become a professional athlete before the Olympic Games.
Rio de Janeiro Olympics
On August 7, Laurie competed in the qualification round at the 2016 Summer Olympics. She scored well on vault, balance beam, and floor exercise. She qualified for the balance beam event final in second place. The United States team finished first in team qualifications.
Laurie and the rest of the U.S. team, known as the Final Five, won the gold medal in the team final. The American team scored much higher than the other teams. Laurie contributed strong scores on vault, beam, and floor exercise.
Laurie won a silver medal in the balance beam event final. She finished just behind Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands.
Taking a break and comeback attempts
After the 2016 Olympics, Laurie took a break from gymnastics. She wanted to rest and explore other opportunities. She appeared on TV shows and in the media. She returned to gymnastics training in October 2018. She also switched to a new gymnastics club in California.
In 2020, Laurie planned to compete in several meets to try for the 2020 Olympic team. However, many competitions were canceled because of the COVID-19 pandemic in the United States.
In 2021, Laurie returned to elite gymnastics at the 2021 Winter Cup. She performed a clean beam routine and finished fifth. At the 2021 U.S. Classic, she competed on vault and balance beam. Unfortunately, she had to withdraw from the 2021 U.S. Championships due to a knee injury during warm-ups. She later shared that she had a torn meniscus, a bone bruise, and a cyst. Because of this, she did not qualify for the Olympic Trials. Laurie officially retired from competitive gymnastics in 2021.
Television roles and media appearances
Dancing with the Stars
Laurie was a celebrity contestant on season 23 of Dancing with the Stars. She was partnered with professional dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. The pair won the competition and the Mirrorball Trophy on November 22, 2016. At 16 years old, Laurie was the youngest winner of the show.
Other television roles
Laurie was the on-course reporter for the first season of American Ninja Warrior Junior. In 2019, she voiced a character named Valeria in the Nickelodeon animated mini-series Middle School Moguls. She was also featured in the Peacock docuseries Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts. Even though she didn't make the 2020 Olympic team, she traveled to Tokyo as a commentator for NBC. In 2023, she appeared as herself in an episode of the Disney+ animated series The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.
Laurie also provided commentary for NBC's live coverage of women's artistic gymnastics at the 2024 Summer Olympics. She was praised for her "enthusiastic, insightful and down-to-earth" comments.
Other appearances and books
On November 24, 2016, Laurie appeared in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade. In 2017, she was a special guest narrator for the Candlelight Processional at Epcot Center in Disney World. She was also a Grand Marshal of the 2020 Rose Parade.
Laurie released her book I Got This: To Gold and Beyond on January 24, 2017. In 2018, she published a children's book called She's Got This, with illustrations by Nina Mata.
Honors
- In 2017, Laurie received a Jefferson Award for Public Service. This was for her "Outstanding National or Global Service by a Young American."
- In June 2019, Laurie was inducted into the New Jersey Hall of Fame.
Personal life
Laurie started attending New York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2023.
Images for kids
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Olympic rings
