Things to Do
Things to Do

Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez visits Atlanta, discusses Tokyo 2020

Gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez. Photo by Harry How. Copyright Getty Images.
Gymnast and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez. Photo by Harry How. Copyright Getty Images.
By Nicole D. Smith
May 24, 2018

At the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio, American gymnast Laurie Hernandez won the hearts of many across the world. She danced. She flipped. She fearlessly competed on the world’s biggest stage for athletes.

Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez is partnering with pro dancer Valentin Chmerkovskiy. ABC announced on Aug. 30, 2016, that Hernandez will take part in the upcoming season of "Dancing with the Stars." The show returns on Monday, Sept. 12 on ABC. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)

Credit: Clive Brunskill

icon to expand image

Credit: Clive Brunskill

During her recent visit to Atlanta for the SECO 2018 optometry conference, features editor Nicole Smith asks the gymnast to describe how it feels to live a life saturated with adrenaline, competition, excitement and gold-medal success. Plus, host Shane Harrison shares things to do in Atlanta during the next 10 days, including the Candler Park Music and Food Festival.

LISTEN: accessAtlanta podcast

LISTEN: You'll find more of our weekly podcast here.

RELATED:

ExploreOlympic champ Gabby Douglas goes ‘Undercover Boss’ in Atlanta
ExploreSimone Biles: Is a 4-foot-9, 18-year-old America’s best athlete?
ExploreThings to do in and around Atlanta

About the Author

UGA grad. CNN alum. Digital savant. Nicole D. Smith is the Senior Digital Features Editor for the AJC, too. #GoDAWGS

More Stories

Keep Reading

Winfred Rembert's acclaimed memoir, "Chasing Me to My Grave: An Artist's Memoir of the Jim Crow South" received the Pulitzer Prize for biography a year after he died. Courtesy of Bloomsbury

Credit: Courtesy of Bloomsbury

Winfred Rembert documented the Jim Crow era with deeply personal paintings

Today, Rembert’s painting of a lively scene inside a juke joint in his hometown of Cuthbert, “The Dirty Spoon Café,” is on display in the High Museum of Art in Atlanta.

Life-size animatronic dinosaurs invading Cobb Galleria Centre this weekend

In Athens, Michael Shannon and Jason Narducy encore with another R.E.M. classic

The Latest

The cast of "Bust," a daring and experimental drama onstage at the Alliance Theatre through March 16.

Credit: Photo by Greg Mooney

Review: Daring ‘Bust’ a prescient look at Black life in contemporary culture

Where can I find it: parchment paper, violin assessment, furniture reupholstery

Watch party roundup: Where to celebrate Atlanta United’s season opener this weekend

Featured

State Rep. Matt Reeves, R-Duluth, introduces himself while attending an AAPI mental health event at Norcross High School on Sunday, Aug. 11, 2024. (Ben Gray for the AJC)

Credit: Ben Gray

This Republican says Georgia needs migrants in the workforce

A Republican-backed bill in the Georgia General Assembly would advocate for Georgia businesses seeking legal migrant workers.

In 1961, Malcolm X took an eye-opening trip to Atlanta

Malcolm X had been a public critic of King and rejected the Nobel Peace Prize winner’s direction on race relations.

What to know before the Atlanta United season opener Saturday

A fan’s guide to traffic, parking, safety and weather for the first Atlanta United match of the season with an expected sellout crowd at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.