So, what happened? Why isn’t Laurie Hernandez in the Olympic gymnastics all-arounds?
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Her animated facial expressions have already landed her the nickname, “The Human Emoji”, but her performances on the Olympic stage also have demonstrated her sass and spunk. Unfortunately, it has all came down to a controversial decision from a member of her own team. Both of Hernandez’s scores at the U.S. Trials, a 60.85 in preliminaries and a 60.3 in the finals, would have topped that. Others were disappointed she wasn’t selected to compete on the bars (only four of a team’s five gymnasts can complete in each event during the qualifying round). Even Douglas, the defending individual all-around gold medalist, won’t compete despite finishing third overall in the qualifying round because the two people ahead of her are teammates.
While all eyes will be on Simone Biles as the United States looks to win its second consecutive women’s gymnastics team final at the Olympics, one of her teammates is looking to make an impression in her first Olympic Games. Karolyi’s decision is not without controversy.
Unable to watch a live stream of the “Final Five” compete in the team all-around earlier this week, Marcus-who has been encouraging his sister from the beginning-held off on finding out the results until he could actually watch the competition.
Like a true professional, Hernandez seems to be taking the decision in stride – Friday’s tweet aside. During the P&G Gymnastics Championships in June, Simone Biles took a moment in the middle of her routine to wink at a teammate, as if to say, “It’s good, I got this”. Hernandez made history by being the first Puerto Rican on Team USA at the Olympics. And yet, Hernandez was forced to sit out on the sidelines on Rio.
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‘You’re the toughest little 16 year old I’ve ever met and I’m not saying that just cause I’m a proud bro.
