Laurie Hernandez Chalks Up Her Charisma On The Floor To Her Latinidad

Laurie Hernandez has garnered recent headlines after landing a spot on Team USA’s women’s gymnastics team at only 16-years old. The talented athlete might be young, but her spirit is not. The New Jersey native will be competing along with a dream team comprised of Gabby Douglas, Aly Raisman, Simone Biles and Madison Kocian. In a brief interview with NBC News, Hernandez spoke about being Latina and what gymnastics mean to her.

https://www.nbcnews.com/widget/video-embed/727358019594

Considerably young, the Puerto Rican Olympian is a fireball on the beam and naturally charismatic on the floor. “I think us Latinas out there, we’re very sassy,” she said. “I think all of us are, we all have a little bit of sassiness in us, you know?”

And the crowd goes WILD after @lzhernandez02‘s floor routine! 😱 💥#RoadToRio 🇺🇸https://t.co/5U0kq4ipkN

— U.S. Olympic Team (@TeamUSA) July 9, 2016

Quitting ballet to do gymnastics at only four-years old, Hernandez has made a name for herself as the first female American-Latina gymnast to make Team USA in more than 30 years.

“You go do gymnastics, you just unleash everything you have, you go out on that floor and you dance as well as you wanna dance,” she said. “I think that we all have very good rhythm, and just be yourself, go out there and get your own style. If you have a dream, in gymnastics or anything else, just go get it!”

So proud of everyone who competed?? I can finally say I’m representing USA at the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics. 🇺🇸🇧🇷 pic.twitter.com/ehW7EvQZlA

— Laurie Hernandez ? (@lzhernandez02) July 11, 2016