Laurie Hernandez

At 24 years old, Laurie Hernandez has this physical status:

Gymnastics career

Hernandez's distinguished career began in 2012 at the United States Classic, where she finished 11th in the junior division. She qualified to the National Championships in St. Louis, where she came in 21st after two days of action.

Hernandez's first meet of the 2013 season was the WOGA Classic, where she secured the silver medal in the all-around competition alongside Meredith Sylvia. She appeared at the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas, in June. She took first place on floor exercises, second in the all-around, second behind Ariana Agrapides, and third on balance beam and vault.

Hernandez was admitted to the United States junior national team in July 2013 after a national training camp. She then went to Chicago for the U.S. Classic, where she placed sixth all-around and captured the floor exercise title. She took the silver medal in the junior all-around competition at the National Championships in August, behind Bailie Key. She has also placed second on uneven bars and floor exercises, and she and Alexis Vasquez are tied for third on beam.

Hernandez was selected to represent the United States at the Junior Japan International in Yokohama in September. In the all-around, she earned the bronze medal by scoring 56.7750 points. She also placed third on the vault, fourth on floor exercise, and sixth on the balance beam. She appeared in the International Junior Mexican Cup in Acapulco in November, alongside Bailie Key, Veronica Hults, and Emily Gaskins, who received the team gold medal. Hernandez earned the silver medal in the all-around championship behind Key.

Hernandez fractured her wrist when she slipped off the beam in a training session in early 2014. She returned to action quickly after the crash, but she suffered with a torn patellar tendon and dislocated kneecap, ending in six months out of gymnastics. In November, she resumed training in the fall and attended the final U.S. training camp of the year.

Hernandez was selected to the United States team for the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy, where she was crowned junior all-around champion with a score of 57.650, ahead of teammates Norah Flatley and Jazmyn Foberg. She earned more gold medals on the uneven bars and floor exercise in the junior-division event finals, as well as a score of 14.500.

Hernandez won the junior all-around title, as well as winning vault (14.900) and uneven bars (15.000). She came in third on balance beam (14.200) and floor exercises (14.350, tied for Deanne Soza).

She had a score of 57.900 on the first day of competition and 59.550 on the second day, winning the junior all-around title over defending champion Foberg. With a combined two-day score of 30.100, silver on the floor exercise, and bronze on balance beam and vault, she also gained the trophy on the uneven bars.

Hernandez was then invited to compete in the 2015 International Junior Japan Meet in Yokohama, where she won the all-around, floor exercise, and vault, as well as gold medals for balance beam and uneven bars.

Hernandez made her senior debut in 2016 at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy, where the US team captured the gold medal. Hernandez captured the bronze medal in the all-around with a score of 58.550, behind two U.S. teammates, fellow first-year senior Ragan Smith, and Gabby Douglas, the 2012 Olympic all-around champion. Aly Raisman, a silver medal on vault and a gold medal on balance beam, as well as Smith and 2012 Olympian Aly Raisman.

Hernandez, a three-time world all-around champion Simone Biles, and 2015 World Championships team member Brenna Dowell competed at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. She earned the first-place finish and third overall behind Biles and Raisman, but not earn the all-around bronze medal because of a statute restricting medals to two gymnasts per country (Japan's Nagi Kajita earns bronze instead). Hernandez also qualified for the balance beam finals, but USA Gymnastics announced that she and Biles would not participate in event finals in order to keep them healthy until the Olympics.

Hernandez spent time in June at the United States Classic on bars only, scoring 15.400 points out of 5.400. She represented all four events at the National Championships later this month. With the Raisman, she was tied for second place in the all-around with Raisman, behind Biles, with a score of 60.450. She scored 14.800 on vault, 15.150 on uneven bars, 15.300 on balance beam, and 14.800 on floor exercise on night two. In third all-around competition, she came third, behind Biles and Raisman. She came third on uneven bars and balance beam, and tied for third on floor exercise with MyKayla Skinner.

Hernandez finished second in the all-around trials at the Olympic Trials in early July, behind Biles. Biles, Douglas, Raisman, and Madison Kocian were all selected to the Olympic team.

Hernandez committed to the University of Florida in 2014 to compete on the Florida Gators gymnastics team in the NCAA. In the run-up to the Olympic Games, she decided to forego NCAA eligibility and become a professional athlete on August 3, 2016.

Hernandez qualified in the women's competition at the 2016 Summer Olympics on August 7, where the top eight teams advanced to the team finals. Hernandez achieved a 15.200 on the vault, a 15.366 on balance beam, and a 14.800 in floor exercise, qualifying to the balance beam finals in second place. She had the fourth highest score on floor, but did not progress to the final due to the two-per-country rule, with teammates Biles and Raisman achieving higher scores. Hernandez did not compete in uneven bars. With a score of 185.238, the United States team came first in team qualifications, securing a spot in the team finals.

Hernandez and the remainder of the United States team, also known as the Final Five, won gold in the team competition on August 9. The Americans won every event, scoring 184.897, more than eight points higher than second-place team Russia (176.688) and third-place China (176.003). Hernandez was the first male participant on the United States team to compete in vault and floor exercises. With a 15.100 on the vault, 15.233 on beam, and 14.833 on floor exercise, she contributed to the overall score.

Hernandez earned a silver medal on balance beam with a score of 15.333 on August 15, which was a highlight in the event finals. She finished third with a score of 14.733 after making an error and grabbing the beam and placing third, and behind Sanne Wevers of the Netherlands, who won gold with a score of 15.466.

Hernandez appeared on the television program Dancing with the Stars after the Olympics. As a show host and voice actor as well as a celebrity guest, she continued to appear on television and in print for the next four years. After two years off, she returned to gymnastics training in October 2018. Despite Hernandez's previous work at MG Elite in New Jersey, she decided to change gymnastics clubs and work at Gym-Max in California with coaches Jenny Zhang and Howie Liang. In August 2019, she said she was working five hours a day, six days a week. Since spectating at the US Championships in August and consulting with team coordinator Tom Forster while there, Hernandez was invited to the national team training camp held on November 15–18, 2019.

Hernandez said in January 2020 that she was focusing on trials that began in late May 2020: the US Classic, USA National Championships, and the US Olympic Trials. Despite being invited, Hernandez did not attend the February national team training camp. Hernandez could not participate in competitions held in March and April 2020 as the February camp was a pick for spring international meets. Hernandez accepted an invitation to the April camp, according to teammate Tom Forster. Maggie Haney, Hernandez's former coach, was barred from USA Gymnastics for eight years after being suspended for eight years for bullying conduct on April 29, 2019. Hernandez testified against Haney at the USA Gymnastics Conference and shared a note on her social media about her travels without naming the coach. Hernandez was publicly mocked for her height, causing Hernandez to binge and purge. Hernandez was also compelled to train and compete while injured. Hernandez also suffers with anxiety and binge eating, which is due to Haney's abuse in 2020. Haney's suspension was seen as a step forward for USA Gymnastics, and fans of the sport cheered him on.

Hernandez made her return to elite gymnastics at the 2021 Winter Cup in February, competing in two events. Despite suffering from a downgraded floor routine, Hernandez continued to produce a clean beam routine and finish fifth, behind Skye Blakely, Jordan Chiles, Sunisa Lee, and Konnor McClain. Hernandez was one of five gymnasts on the Peacock docuseries Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts.

Hernandez appeared in the 2021 United States championships in June. She competed in beam and vault. Hernandez was forced to leave the sport after hyperextended her left knee in the balance beam warm-ups. Hernandez's knee was heavily wrapped. She was not accepted into the national team, and she did not qualify for the forthcoming Olympic trials.

In the fall of 2021, Hernandez took part in Simone Biles' Gold Over America Tour.

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