With Olympic gymnastic trials just days away, two-time Olympic medalist and gymnastics icon Laurie Hernandez is sharing her athletes to watch heading into Paris.
“An obvious one is Simone Biles,” Hernandez, 24 — who competed with Biles as part of the “Final Five” in 2016 — told Us Weekly exclusively while promoting On Location Olympic hospitality packages. “Barring any injuries, she’s in and Team USA definitely needs her.”
The most decorated gymnast in History with 37 Olympic and World Championship medals, Biles, 27, will be making a comeback at the Paris Games following her withdrawal from the 2020 Olympics in Tokyo after struggling with her mental Health.
Besides Biles, her friend and the obvious frontrunner, Hernandez revealed her predictions to round out Team USA.
“Shilese Jones is also an athlete who has been really just on [Simone’s] tail throughout the year,” Hernandez told Us, explaining that Jones, 21, recently pulled out of the U.S. gymnastics championships for a shoulder injury, but she plans to compete at trials.
“Spots three, four and five are really up for grabs,” Hernandez added. “Recently at championships, Skye Blakely, this underdog younger athlete, has come in and just knocked it out of the park. So if she can hit all of her routines, she’s also in.”
A 19-year-old Texas native, Blakely finished in second at the National Gymnastics Championships earlier this month — just behind Biles — earning two silver medals and two bronze medals.
Yet, if Biles performs at her full capacity, there is no stopping her.
“What makes an extraordinary athlete is the acknowledgement that mental Health exists. I think all the best athletes recognize that the mind is a powerful thing and we can only go so far with our bodies,” Hernandez told Us. “[For] athletes like Simone and Michael Phelps and Naomi Osaka, being able to acknowledge that mental Health exists and that we get to where we get to because we’re paying attention is one of the best parts.”
Hernandez competed alongside Biles in the 2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics as part of the most-decorated American Olympic gymnastics team of all time. While Hernandez retired from the sport in 2021, she is returning to the Olympic stage as an NBC correspondent for women’s gymnastics — and she’s excited to reunite with her former teammate.
“Especially at these competitions, I’m able to go and say ‘Hi’ and she’s always so friendly and kind and I can tell she’s kind to her teammates as well,” Hernandez told Us of Biles. “I think it’s important that we have an athlete who has been around for so long kind of guiding this way for athletes that are up-and-coming. So that’s wonderful.”
Hernandez also shared that “live gymnastics is very different than what you’re seeing on TV,” and to watch Biles compete in person is especially impressive.
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Snag the Sale on This Sundress While it’s Still 30% Off! View DealTo help more fans than ever get that in-person experience at the Paris Olympics, Hernandez is partnering with On Location to promote their hospitality packages for the Games.
“There’s gonna be unmatched views of the opening ceremony, which for the first time ever it’s not being done in an arena or stadium. It’s being done [by] sending athletes down the Seine River,” she told Us. “Also, Team USA House is opening its doors to the public for the first time ever, which is gonna be exciting because I remember as an athlete that was a place I wanted to go. … The fact that the public can go in and experience that as well I think is a really unique experience.”
Official On Location Hospitality Packages for the 2024 Paris Olympics are on sale now.
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Laurie Hernandez
