Laurie Hernandez

 ( 2000 Births ) 

Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around at the 2013 WOGA Classic. In June, she competed at the American Classic in Huntsville, Texas. There, she placed first on floor exercise, second in the all-around behind Ariana Agrapides, and third on balance beam and vault. Following a national training camp, in July 2013, she was added to the U.S. junior national team. She then went to Chicago for the U.S. Classic, where she placed sixth all-around and won the floor exercise title. At the National Championships in August, she won the silver medal in the junior all-around competition with a total score of 116.650, behind Bailie Key. She also placed second on uneven bars and floor exercise, and tied for third on beam with Alexis Vasquez.

Hernandez was selected to represent the U.S. at the Junior Japan International in Yokohama in September 2013. She scored 56.750 to win the bronze medal in the all-around. She also took third on vault, fourth on floor exercise, and sixth on balance beam. In November, she competed at the International Junior Mexican Cup in Acapulco alongside Bailie Key, Veronica Hults, and Emily Gaskins, and they won the team gold medal. Individually, Hernandez won the silver medal in the all-around behind Key.

Hernandez was named to the U.S. team for the 2015 City of Jesolo Trophy in Jesolo, Italy, where she was crowned junior all-around champion with a score of 57.650, ahead of teammates Norah Flatley and Jazmyn Foberg. In the junior-division event finals, she earned additional gold medals on the uneven bars and the floor exercise. At the U.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. At the U.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. 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.

In April, Hernandez competed at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships in Everett, Washington along with Raisman, Smith, three-time world all-around champion Simone Biles, and 2015 World Championships team member Brenna 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's Nagi Kajita took bronze instead). Hernandez also qualified for the balance beam final, but USA Gymnastics announced that she and Biles would not compete in event finals in order to rest them before the Olympics.

In June, Hernandez competed at the U.S. Classic on the uneven bars only, scoring 15.400 and placing fourth. Later that month, she competed on all four events at the U.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. She finished the two-day competition in third all-around, behind Biles and Raisman. She placed third on uneven bars and balance beam and tied for third on floor exercise with MyKayla Skinner.

At the Olympic trials in early July, Hernandez placed second in the all-around, behind Biles. She was named to the Olympic team alongside Biles, Douglas, Raisman, and Madison Kocian. Hernandez had previously committed to the University of Florida to compete on the Florida Gators gymnastics team in the NCAA. However, she decided to forgo NCAA eligibility and become a professional athlete on August 3, 2016, in the lead-up to the Olympic Games.