Laurie Hernandez
| Laurie Hernandez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lauren Hernandez | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nickname(s) | Lolo | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | June 9, 2000 | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Hometown | New Brunswick, NJ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Residence | Old Bridge, NJ | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | ||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Discipline | Women's artistic gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented |  United States | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Years on national team | 2012-present | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Level | Senior International Elite | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | MG Elite Gymnastics | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach(es) | Margaret Hainey | |||||||||||||||||||||||
| Assistant coach(es) | Victoria Levine | |||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||
Lauren Hernandez (born 9 June 2000 in New Brunswick, New Jersey) is an American artistic gymnast.
Gymnastics
2012
Hernandez's elite career started in 2012 at the Secret U.S. Classic, where she placed 11th in the junior division at the age of 12. Through the Classic, she qualified to the Visa U.S. National Championships in St. Louis, Missouri. At nationals, she placed 21st after two days of competition.
2013
Hernandez's first meet of the season was the WOGA Classic, where she placed second overall.
In June, Hernandez competed at the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas. Hernandez placed first on Floor Exercise, second All-Around, behind MG elite teammate, Ariana Agrapides and third on both Balance Beam and Vault.
In early July, during a training camp in Huntsville, Texas, Hernandez was added to the U.S Junior National Team.
She then went to Chicago, Illinois, for the Secret U.S. Classic where she placed sixth All-Around and also won the floor exercise title.
Later in August, at the P&G National Championships, Hernandez took the silver medal in the All-Around with a 116.650 total, behind junior standout Bailie Key. This placement secured Hernandez a spot on the U.S National Team for the 2013-14 season. She also placed sixth on vault, second on bars and second on floor, and tied for third on beam with Alexis Vasquez.
In September, Hernandez, along with Junior U.S National Champion, Bailie Key, was selected to represent the U.S at the 2013 Junior Japan International in Yokohama, Japan. She scored 56.750 and took home the bronze medal All-Around, with teammate Bailie Key winning the title. She also took 3rd on Vault, 4th on Floor Exercise and 6th on Balance Beam. [1]
Later in 2013, to round out a busy year, Hernandez was selected to compete at the International Junior Mexican Cup in Acapulco, Mexico. She helped the U.S team place first in the team competition. The team included Hernandez, Bailie Key, Veronica Hults and Emily Gaskins. Hernandez also took second place All-Around behind U.S teammate Bailie Key.
2014
In early 2014, Hernandez suffered a hand fracture when she slipped off the beam in a training session. She returned to competition soon after the injury but then suffered a torn patella tendon and dislocated kneecap, resulting in six months out of gymnastics and ending her chances of competing at Nationals.[2]
Hernandez resumed training in the fall and attended the final U.S. training camp of the year in November.[3]
2015
Hernandez was named to the U.S. team for the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy. She represented the U.S. at the competition and was crowned junior all-around champion, scoring 57.650, ahead of teammates Norah Flatley and Jazmyn Foberg.[4] In the junior-division event finals, Hernandez earned additional gold medals on the uneven bars, with a score of 14.500, and the floor exercise, with a score of 14.650.[5]
Hernandez next competed at the 2015 U.S. Classic in July. She won the junior all-around title with a score of 58.450, as well as winning vault (14.900) and uneven bars (15.000) and placing third on balance beam (14.200) and floor exercise (14.350, tied with Deanne Soza).[6]
At the P&G National Championships, Hernandez had a score of 57.900 on the first day, and 59.550 on the second day, winning the junior all-around national championship title over teammate and defending champion Jazmyn Foberg. She also won the title on the uneven bars with a combined two-day score of 30.100, and got silver on the floor exercise and bronze on balance beam and vault.[7]
Following her win at the P&G Gymnastics Championships, Hernandez was selected to compete at the 2015 International Junior Japan Meet in Yokohama, Japan along with MG Elite teammate and the silver medalist All-Around at the P&G Gymnastics Championships, Jazmyn Foberg. In Japan, Hernandez won the All-Around competition. She also took gold medals on the Floor Exercise and Vault and earned silver medals on Balance Beam and Uneven Bars.
2016
2016 marked the senior debut of Hernandez, making her eligible for the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro.
In March Hernandez was selected to compete at the 2016 City of Jesolo Trophy competition in Jesolo, Italy. Hernandez, new to the senior ranks really impressed and made a strong case to earn a spot on the 2016 U.S Olympic team. In the All-Around, Hernandez earned the bronze medal with a score of 58.550, behind U.S teammates, Ragan Smith and 2012 Olympic Champion, Gabby Douglas. She also earned a silver medal on Vault and a gold medal on Balance Beam with a huge score of 15.250, ahead of Olympic Champion, Aly Raisman and U.S teammate and fellow new senior, Ragan Smith.
In April, Hernandez was selected to compete at the 2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington. The team, made up of six senior gymnasts included Hernandez, 3 time World All- Around Champion, Simone Biles, Olympic Champions, Gabby Douglas and Aly Raisman, 2015 World Championships gold medalist, Brenna Dowell and fellow new senior, Ragan Smith. To be selected for this team was a huge step forward in Hernandez' Olympic bid. Hernandez contributed an All-Around score of 59.800 towards the American teams first place finish. Hernandez also took the third spot All-Around, behind Simone Biles and Aly Raisman, however did not earn the bronze medal due to the two per country rule. Instead, Japan's Nagi Kajita took the bronze medal in the All-Around.
Hernandez also qualified to the Balance Beam event finals at these Championships, however it was announced by USA Gymnastics that she and Simone Biles would not compete in the event finals in order to rest them ahead of a busy year in the lead up to the 2016 Olympic Games. [8]
Personal life
Hernandez is the daughter of Wanda and Anthony and has a sister, Jelysa, and a brother, Marcus, who both do karate and varsity track. At the age of 5, Hernandez asked her mother if she could do gymnastics and has not stopped since. Outside of gymnastics, enjoys swimming and doing her nails, writing poetry, drawing and listening to One Direction and Ed Sheeran. Although she has a tight schedule, she occasionally volunteers at the Sayre Woods Bible Church.
Future
Hernandez will be eligible for senior competition in 2016, and her main goal is the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She, along with her teammate Jazmyn Foberg, committed to the University of Florida on December 8, 2014, and will attend in the fall of 2018.
References
- ^ https://usagym.org/pages/athletes/athleteListDetail.html?id=278528
- ^ http://beamdreams.com/2014/01/31/laurie-hernandez-out-with-an-injury/
- ^ https://usagym.org/pages/post.html?PostID=15218&prog=h
- ^ http://thegymter.net/2015/03/28/2015-jesolo-live-results/
- ^ http://www.thecouchgymnast.com/2015/03/29/jesolo-event-final-results/
- ^ https://usagym.org/PDFs/Results/w_15susc_jr.pdf
- ^ http://thegymter.net/2015/08/24/2015-u-s-championships-results/
- ^ http://www.flogymnastics.com/article/40909-biles-hernandez-not-participating-in-pac-rims-event-finals