A biography for Laurie Hernandezhasn’t been written yet.
“On Sundays, I just love to go to church and then relax the whole day!”
“I feel I could be a role model to other Hispanic gymnasts interested in the sport, but I also want them to understand the importance of being focused, determined, and not giving up, despite all the struggles.”
“My mother was in the Army Reserve for six years. She taught me the importance of following rules, finishing what I start, never giving up, leadership skills, teamwork, staying positive, motivated and how to pack the military way when I'm traveling!”
“It's really hard to be all serious in the tango and not break into laughter.”
“The big cheat meal will be a cookies and cream milkshake.”
“I want to be a role model. I want to be able to know that I inspired girls to work hard and go for their dreams and to never give up.”
“I tell everyone that I'm 5 feet-1 inch tall, but I think I'm technically 5 feet. My mom says she's 4 feet 11 inches, and I'm barely taller than her.”
“My earliest memory was watching gymnastics on live TV and wanting to do what the 'big girls' did.”
“Something that would probably surprise my fans is that I wear contact lenses, and nobody really knows that because I guess I've never really had to tell anybody about that.”
“Secretly, I'm a 5-year-old.”
“I never look at scores or anything.”
“I like history because you can't really progress without knowing what comes before you, so I think it's super fascinating.”
“A goal of making it to the Olympic Games has motivated me to work very hard in my sport.”
“I think I still like science and art better, but geometry is a big improvement over algebra.”
“I started a gymnastics class at five years old, but it became serious at seven.”
“Honestly, I don't really know the rules of tango!”
“Dancing is different than gymnastics, but it's a good different, and it's something that I've always wanted to try.”
“I feel that, every day, God molds me into someone that He wants me to be. So if that means just, like, talking to teammates and helping them out, or, like, every so often I'll post a Bible verse on Twitter or Instagram.”
“People call me the human emoji because I think people recognize that if I'm ever thinking something or feeling a certain emotion, it goes straight to my face. So if I'm happy, you'll know I'm happy, and if I'm mad, you'll know I'm mad just by looking at me.”
“I've been to Tokyo-slash-Japan - we actually went to Yokohama in 2015 and 2013 for international competitions. I think that it would be really nice to go back and do a little Olympic thing there.”