Hernandez inPhoenix, Arizona, in July 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Full name | Lauren Zoe Hernandez[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||
Nickname |
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| Born | (2000-06-09)June 9, 2000 (age 25) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 5 ft 1 in (155 cm)[2] | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Gymnastics career | |||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Women's artistic gymnastics | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Country represented | United States(2012–16 (USA)) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Gym-Max Gymnastics (2018–2021), MG Elite (former) | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Head coach | Jenny Liang | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Former coach | Maggie Haney | ||||||||||||||||||||
| Retired | June 6, 2021 | ||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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Lauren Zoe Hernandez (born June 9, 2000) is an American retiredartistic 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 the2016 Summer Olympics. Individually, Hernandez earned the silver medal on thebalance beam. She took a break from gymnastics and returned to training in late 2018 to earn a spot on the2020 Summer Olympics team, but she did not qualify for theOlympic Trials.
Hernandez was first added to theU.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 the2015 U.S. Championships. In addition to winning Olympic gold, Hernandez also won team gold medals at the2016 City of Jesolo Trophy and2016 Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships.
Outside of gymnastics, Hernandez has appeared onseason 23 ofDancing with the Stars in 2016, where she won the competition along with partnerValentin Chmerkovskiy. Hernandez hosted the first season ofAmerican Ninja Warrior Junior as the on-course reporter and starred as Valeria in the Nickelodeon animated miniseriesMiddle School Moguls. She is the author of two books,I Got This: To Gold and Beyond, aNew York Times Bestseller, andShe's Got This, a children's book.
Hernandez was born on June 9, 2000, inNew Brunswick, New Jersey,[3] and is the daughter of Wanda and Anthony Hernandez.[4] Her grandparents moved fromPuerto Rico.[5][6] She has a sister, Jelysa, and a brother, Marcus.[7] She took ballet lessons when she was four, but she asked her parents to switch to gymnastics when she was five.[8] She was homeschooled through theAbeka Academy distance-learning program.[7][9]
At the 2012 National Qualifier held at theKarolyi Ranch, Hernandez won the bronze medal in the all-around behindVeronica Hults andMaggie Nichols, and her scores qualified her for domestic elite competitions.[10] Later that week at the American Classic, she finished eighth in the junior all-around.[11] She then competed at theU.S. Classic, where she placed 11th in the junior division.[12] Through the Classic, she qualified for theU.S. Championships inSt. Louis, where she placed 21st after two days of competition.[13]
Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around at the 2013WOGA Classic.[14] In June, she competed at the American Classic inHuntsville, Texas. There, she placed first onfloor exercise, second in the all-around behind Ariana Agrapides, and third onbalance beam andvault.[15] Following a national training camp, in July 2013, she was added to the U.S. junior national team.[16] She then went toChicago for the U.S. Classic, where she placed sixth all-around and won the floor exercise title.[17] At the National Championships in August, she won the silver medal in the junior all-around competition with a total score of 116.650, behindBailie Key. She also placed second onuneven bars and floor exercise, and tied for third on beam with Alexis Vasquez.[18]
Hernandez was selected to represent the U.S. at the Junior Japan International inYokohama in September 2013. She scored 56.750 to win the bronze medal in the all-around.[19] She also took third on vault, fourth on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam.[20] In November, she competed at the International Junior Mexican Cup inAcapulco alongside Bailie Key,Veronica Hults, andEmily Gaskins, and they won the team gold medal. Individually, Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around behind Key.[21]
In early 2014, Hernandez fractured her wrist when she slipped off the beam in a training session. Later that year, she dislocated herkneecap andtore her patellar tendon.[22][23][24] She resumed training in the fall and attended the final U.S. training camp of the year in November.[25]
Hernandez was named to the U.S. team for the2015 City of Jesolo Trophy inJesolo, Italy, where she was crowned junior all-around champion with a score of 57.650, ahead of teammatesNorah Flatley andJazmyn Foberg.[26] In the junior-division event finals, she earned additional gold medals on the uneven bars and the floor exercise.[27] At theU.S. Classic in July, she won the junior all-around title with a score of 58.450, as well as winning vault and uneven bars. She placed third on the balance beam and floor exercise.[28] At theU.S. Championships, 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. She also won the title on the uneven bars, a silver medal on the floor exercise, and bronze medals on the balance beam and vault.[29] She was then selected to compete at the 2015 International Junior Japan Meet in Yokohama, where she won the all-around, floor exercise, and vault and won silver medals on balance beam and uneven bars.[30]
Hernandez made her senior debut in 2016 at theCity of Jesolo Trophy, where the U.S. team won the gold medal. Hernandez won the bronze medal in the all-around with a score of 58.550, behind two U.S. teammates, fellow first-year seniorRagan Smith andGabby Douglas, the2012 Olympic all-around champion.[31] She also earned a silver medal on the vault behindMyKayla Skinner and a gold medal on the balance beam, ahead of Smith and 2012 OlympianAly Raisman.[32]
In April, Hernandez competed at thePacific Rim Gymnastics Championships inEverett, Washington along with Raisman, Smith, three-time world all-around championSimone Biles, and 2015 World Championships team memberBrenna Dowell. She contributed an all-around score of 59.800 toward the American team's first-place finish and placed third individually behind Biles and Raisman, but did not earn the all-around bronze medal because of a rule limiting medals to two gymnasts per country (Japan'sNagi Kajita took bronze instead).[33][34] Hernandez also qualified for the balance beam final, butUSA Gymnastics announced that she and Biles would not compete in event finals in order to rest them before the Olympics.[35]
In June, Hernandez competed at theU.S. Classic on the uneven bars only, scoring 15.400 and placing fourth.[36] Later that month, she competed on all four events at theU.S. Championships. At the end of night one, she was tied for second place in the all-around with Raisman, behind Biles, with a score of 60.450.[37] She finished the two-day competition in third all-around, behind Biles and Raisman.[38] She placed third on uneven bars and balance beam and tied for third on floor exercise withMyKayla Skinner.[39]
At theOlympic trials in early July, Hernandez placed second in the all-around, behind Biles.[40] She was named to the Olympic team alongside Biles, Douglas, Raisman, andMadison Kocian.[41] Hernandez had previously committed to theUniversity of Florida to compete on theFlorida Gators gymnastics team in theNCAA.[42] However, she decided to forgo NCAA eligibility and become a professional athlete on August 3, 2016, in the lead-up to theOlympic Games.[43][44]

On August 7, Hernandez competed in thequalification round at the2016 Summer Olympics. She scored 15.200 on the vault, 15.366 on the balance beam, and 14.800 on the floor exercise, qualifying for the balance beam event final in second place.[45][46] She posted the fourth highest score on floor, but she did not advance to the final due to the two-per-country rule, with teammates Biles and Raisman getting higher scores.[45] Hernandez did not compete on uneven bars. The United States team finished first in team qualifications, securing a spot in team finals nearly 10 points ahead of the second-place team.[47]
Hernandez and the rest of the United States team, known as theFinal Five, won gold in theteam final. The Americans won every event, scoring a total of 184.897, more than eight points higher than second-place team Russia (176.688) and third-place team China (176.003).[48][49] Hernandez was the first competitor on vault and floor exercise for the United States team.[48] She contributed to the overall score with 15.100 on vault, 15.233 on beam, and 14.833 on floor exercise.[48][49]
Hernandez won a silver medal in thebalance beam event final with a score of 15.333. She placed ahead of teammateSimone Biles, who placed third with a score of 14.733, and behindSanne Wevers of the Netherlands, who won gold with a score of 15.466.[50][51]
After the 2016 Olympics, Hernandez took a break from gymnastics to pursue media opportunities and rest her body.[52] She appeared on the television showDancing with the Stars and won the competition.[53] She continued appearing on television and in the media throughout the next four years, as a show host and voice actor as well as a celebrity guest. She returned to gymnastics training in October 2018, after two years off.[54][55] Although Hernandez previously trained in New Jersey at MG Elite, for her comeback she chose to switch gymnastics clubs and train at Gym-Max in California with coaches Jenny Zhang and Howie Liang.[54][56] She was invited to the national team training camp held November 15–18, 2019,[57] after spectating at the U.S. Championships in August and speaking to team coordinator Tom Forster while there.[58]
In January 2020, Hernandez said that she was focusing on meets beginning in late May 2020: theU.S. Classic,U.S. Championships, andU.S. Olympic Trials.[59] Hernandez did not attend the February national team training camp, despite being invited.[60][59] As the February camp was a selection for spring international meets, Hernandez could not participate in competitions held in March and April 2020. According to team coordinator Tom Forster, Hernandez accepted an invitation to the April camp.[60][59] However, this training camp and the competitions for the 2020 season were canceled due to theCOVID-19 pandemic in the United States.[61]
On April 29, Hernandez's former coachMaggie Haney was suspended by USA Gymnastics for eight years due to abusive conduct.[62] Hernandez testified against Haney at the USA Gymnastics hearing,[62] and posted a message about her experiences on her social media without naming the coach.[63] Haney publicly humiliated Hernandez for her weight, leading Hernandez to binge and purge.[64] She also forced Hernandez to train and compete while injured. In 2020, Hernandez said that she still struggled with depression anddisordered eating that began due to Haney's abuse.[65] Within the gymnastics community, Haney's suspension was seen as progress in the aftermath of theUSA Gymnastics sex abuse scandal.[66]
In February, Hernandez returned to elite gymnastics competition at the2021 Winter Cup, competing on two events. Despite competing a downgraded floor routine, Hernandez managed to hit a clean beam routine to finish fifth on the event behindSkye Blakely,Jordan Chiles,Sunisa Lee, andKonnor McClain.[67][68] Then at the2021 U.S. Classic, she competed on the vault and balance beam, but she fell off the balance beam.[69] In June, Hernandez was scheduled to compete at the 2021 U.S. Championships. However, she had to withdraw from the competition after hyperextending her left knee in balance beam warm-ups.[70] She was not added to the national team, and she did not qualify to compete at the upcomingOlympic Trials.[71] She later shared that she had atorn meniscus, a bone bruise, and a cyst.[72]
Hernandez participated inSimone Biles'Gold Over America Tour in the fall of 2021.[73] She retired from competition in 2021.[74]
Hernandez was revealed as one of the celebrities competing onseason 23 ofDancing with the Stars on August 30, 2016. She was partnered with professional dancerValentin Chmerkovskiy.[75] The couple won the competition and the Mirrorball Trophy on the episode that aired November 22, 2016.[76] At 16, Hernandez was the show's youngest winner.[77][78]
In November 2017, Hernandez returned to the25th season in week eight, to participate in a triojive withVictoria Arlen and Chmerkovskiy.[79]
| Week # | Dance/Song | Judges' scores | Result | Ref. | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Inaba | Goodman | Hough | Tonioli | ||||
| 1 | Cha-cha-cha / "American Girl" | 8 | 8 | 7 | 8 | No elimination | [80] |
| 2 | Jive / "DuckTales" | 8 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe | [81] |
| 3 | Tango / "Into the Sunset" | 7 | 8 | 8 | 8 | Safe (Immunity) | [82] |
| 4 | Jazz / "The Way You Make Me Feel" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Safe | [83] |
| 5 | Paso doble / "Rise" | 8 | 9 | 9 | 8 | No elimination | [84] |
| 6 | Salsa / "Light It Up" | 9 | 9 | 9 | 10 | Safe | [85] |
| 7 | Quickstep / "One Fine Day" Team Freestyle / "Embrace" | 8 8 | 8 9 | 9 9 | 9 9 | Safe | [86] |
| 8 | Viennese waltz / "Pure Imagination" | 10 | 10 | 10 | 10 | Safe | [87] |
| 9 | Argentine tango / "Cell Block Tango" Contemporary / "Bird Set Free" | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | Safe | [88] |
| 10 Semifinals | Foxtrot / "Hollow" Samba / "Magalenha" | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | 10 10 | Safe | [89] |
| 11 Finals | Paso doble / "Wicked Ones" Freestyle / "Brand New" Fusion (Argentine tango +Foxtrot) / "We Are the Ones" | 9 10 10 | 10 10 10 | 9 10 10 | 10 10 10 | Winner | [90] |
Hernandez was the on-course reporter for the first season ofAmerican Ninja Warrior Junior.[91][92] In 2019, she starred withDaniella Perkins andJade Pettyjohn in theNickelodeon animated mini-seriesMiddle School Moguls, voicing a character named Valeria.[93] Hernandez was one of five gymnasts featured on thePeacock docuseriesGolden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts.[94] Despite not making the2020 Olympic team, she still traveled to Tokyo as a commentator for NBC.[72] She guest starred as herself alongsideDominique Dawes andGabby Douglas in an episode airing in 2023 of the second season of theDisney+ animated seriesThe Proud Family: Louder and Prouder.[95]
Hernandez providedcolor commentary for NBC's live daytime coverage of the women's artistic gymnastics events at the2024 Summer Olympics.[96][97] She discussed havingimposter syndrome before the 2024 Summer Olympics and was praised for "her enthusiastic, insightful and down-to-earth" commentary.[98] For her work as an event analyst, Hernandez won aSports Emmy Award forOutstanding Live Special – Championship Event.[99][100]
On November 24, 2016, she appeared on the 90th anniversary of theMacy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, riding theSpirit of America float.[101] Then in 2017, she was the special guest narrator for theCandlelight Processional atEpcot Center inDisney World.[102] She was aGrand Marshal of the 2020 Rose Parade.[103]
Hernandez released her bookI Got This: To Gold and Beyond on January 24, 2017.[104] In 2018, Hernandez published a similar children's book titledShe's Got This, with illustrations by Nina Mata.[105]
Hernandez has been dating fellow gymnastCharlotte Drury since December 2020.[108] She started attendingNew York University Tisch School of the Arts in 2023.[109]
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2012 | National Qualifier | 13 | 6 | ||||
| American Classic | 8 | 10 | 8 | 6 | |||
| U.S. Classic | 11 | 10 | 23 | 7 | 6 | ||
| U.S. Championships | 21 | 19 | 19 | 21 | 17 | ||
| 2013 | WOGA Classic | 4 | 4 | 9 | |||
| American Classic | 7 | ||||||
| U.S. Classic | 6 | 8 | 8 | 16 | |||
| U.S. Championships | 5 | ||||||
| Japan Junior International | 6 | 4 | |||||
| Junior Mexican Cup | |||||||
| 2015 | City of Jesolo Trophy | ||||||
| U.S. Classic | |||||||
| U.S. Championships | |||||||
| Japan Junior International |
| Year | Event | Team | AA | VT | UB | BB | FX |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | City of Jesolo Trophy | ||||||
| Pacific Rim Championships | |||||||
| U.S. Classic | 4 | ||||||
| U.S. Championships | |||||||
| Olympic Trials | 4 | 7 | |||||
| Olympic Games | |||||||
| 2017 | Did not compete | ||||||
| 2018 | |||||||
| 2019 | |||||||
| 2020 | |||||||
| 2021 | Winter Cup | 5 | 13 | ||||
| U.S. Classic | 22 | ||||||
| U.S. Championships | WD | ||||||
| Year | Title | Role | Notes | Ref. |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2016 | Dancing with the Stars | Herself | Contestant onSeason 23 | [75] |
| 2017 | Stuck in the Middle | 1 episode | [110] | |
| 2018 | Sesame Street | Cameo on Season 48 | [111] | |
| Celebrity Family Feud | Summer 2018 Season | [112] | ||
| American Ninja Warrior Junior | Co-Host | [91] | ||
| 2019 | Middle School Moguls | Valeria | Main voice role | [93] |
| 2020 | Blue's Clues & You! | Herself | Episode: "Happy Birthday, Blue!" | [113] |
| 2021 | Golden: The Journey of USA's Elite Gymnasts | Peacock docuseries | [94] | |
| 2023 | The Proud Family: Louder and Prouder | Voice, episode: "A Perfect 10" | [95] |
| Awards and achievements | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by | Dancing with the Stars (US) winners Season 23 (Fall 2016 withValentin Chmerkovskiy) | Succeeded by |