Special thanks as well to Coach Yuriy Aminov from Monmouth Gymnastics, for his continued encouragement throughout the years.
Lots of xo’s to the Plum Leo staff and crew, too—Nicole Midura, John Mytschenko, Gennaro Palladino, Brant Lutska, and the Rizzo family. My years modeling with you gave me so much confidence and even more happy memories!
Deep appreciation also extends to the entire cast of the AEG/USAG’s Kellogg’s Tour of Gymnastics Champions and the show’s amazing staff and crew. Thank you, Shawn Johnson and Nastia Liukin, in particular, for taking me under your wings on the tour and for advising me on Dancing with the Stars as well.
I am especially grateful to my awesome DWTS partner, Val Chmerkovskiy; all the other pros and contestants on the show; hosts Tom Bergeron and Erin Andrews; as well as all the judges: Carrie Ann Inaba, Len Goodman, Julianne Hough, and Bruno Tonioli. I have learned so much from you all. I’m thankful, too, for the efforts of the talented designers, crew, and helpful administrative staff. And I am especially grateful to Deena Katz, the show’s co–executive producer and head of casting, who saw me at the Olympic Trials and knew then that I should be on the show!
A big shout-out to Lisa Sharkey and my editor, Sara Sargent, at HarperCollins and to my collaborator, Hope Innelli. This book wouldn’t be possible without all of your help!
Hugs to my agent, Sheryl Shade, who is doing an amazing job navigating me through this next exciting chapter of my career and life. I am so fortunate to have found such a force of good! Special thanks as well to her associate Shannon Lynch, and to my PMK publicist, Meghan Prophet, for all they do every day.
Huge thanks to all the young gymnasts and dancers who continue to watch and support me, and all the readers who bought this book!
And finally, my never-ending love and gratitude to my family and to God for all the blessings I’ve received.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
LAURIE HERNANDEZ is an American gymnast, an Olympic gold medalist, and the youngest-ever champion on Dancing with the Stars. At the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio, Laurie won silver in the individual balance beam competition and secured gold in the team final.
Laurie started gymnastics at the age of six because she wanted to experience the feeling of flying. She enrolled at Monmouth Gymnastics in New Jersey, where she met her coach, and they became a winning duo. The turning point in Laurie’s career came in 2014, when her progress was stalled due to multiple injuries. She returned stronger than ever by becoming the 2015 US junior national champion. Laurie’s other career highlights include all-around silver, beam gold, and floor exercise bronze at the 2016 US Olympic Trials and bronze in all-around, floor exercise, beam, and uneven bars at the 2016 national championships.
Laurie is known for her dazzling floor exercise routines and for her grace and artistry on the balance beam. She has been nicknamed “the Human Emoji” for her outgoing facial expressions.
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CREDITS
Cover photograph © 2017 by John Cheng
COPYRIGHT
Glossary of gymnastics terms courtesy of USA Gymnastics
Emojis © bontom / Shutterstock
I GOT THIS: TO GOLD AND BEYOND. Copyright © 2017 by Lauren Hernandez. All rights reserved under International and Pan-American Copyright Conventions. By payment of the required fees, you have been granted the nonexclusive, nontransferable right to access and read the text of this e-book on-screen. No part of this text may be reproduced, transmitted, downloaded, decompiled, reverse-engineered, or stored in or introduced into any information storage and retrieval system, in any form or by any means, whether electronic or mechanical, now known or hereafter invented, without the express written permission of HarperCollins e-books.
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ISBN 978-0-06-267731-0
EPub Edition © January 2017 ISBN 9780062677334
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