26 Moments That Laurie Hernandez Will Never, Ever Forget

By Alessandra Foresto

Updated on Dec 31, 2016 at 5:00 PM

It's hard to believe that at the beginning of 2016, most of us didn't know who Olympic gymnast Laurie Hernandez was. The 16-year-old athlete, whose parents are Puerto Rican, is so endearing, she very quickly stole our hearts with her sass on the floor of the Rio 2016 Summer Olympics, her moves on Dancing With the Stars, and her sense of humor. Straight ahead we've rounded up 26 of Laurie's highlights from the past 12 months. It's a year she nor us will ever forget.

01

When She Took First Place in the Team Competition at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships — Getty | Ezra Shaw

When She Took First Place in the Team Competition at the Pacific Rim Gymnastics Championships

02

And Then Third Place at the P&G Gymnastics Championships — Getty | Dilip Vishwanat

And Then Third Place at the P&G Gymnastics Championships

03

When She Scored the Highest Score on Balance Beam at the US Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team Trials — Getty | Ronald Martinez

When She Scored the Highest Score on Balance Beam at the US Olympic Women's Gymnastics Team Trials

04

Then Made the Team! — Getty | Ezra Shaw

Then Made the Team!

05

When This Throwback Video of Her Floor Routine Made the Rounds

06

When She Made It to Rio de Janeiro For the Olympics and Posed With the Rings

07

When She Was All Sass on Her Team Competition Floor Routine — Getty | EMMANUEL DUNAND

When She Was All Sass on Her Team Competition Floor Routine

08

No, Seriously, ALL the Sass — NBC

No, Seriously, ALL the Sass

09

When She Gave Herself a Pep Talk Before the Balance Beam Routine — Getty

When She Gave Herself a Pep Talk Before the Balance Beam Routine

10

And It Totally Worked — Getty | Ezra Shaw

And It Totally Worked

11

When She Won Gold With Team USA — Getty | Laurence Griffiths

When She Won Gold With Team USA

12

And Couldn't Deal With All the Excitement — Getty | Lars Baron

And Couldn't Deal With All the Excitement

13

When Her Brother Wrote the Sweetest Congratulations Message

14

When She Slayed the Balance Beam in the Solo Competition — Getty | Lars Baron

When She Slayed the Balance Beam in the Solo Competition

15

And Took Home the Silver Medal — Getty | Lars Baron

And Took Home the Silver Medal

16

When She Got to Meet Her Crush, Zac Efron

17

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When She Was a Hungry Hungry Human on The Tonight Show

18

When She Attended the MTV Video Music Awards — Getty | Dimitrios Kambouris

When She Attended the MTV Video Music Awards

19

When She Announced She Was Competing in Dancing With the Stars

20

When She Threw the First Pitch For the Mets With a Flip — Getty | Rich Schultz

When She Threw the First Pitch For the Mets With a Flip

21

When She Attended the CMA Awards With Her Team — Getty | John Shearer

When She Attended the CMA Awards With Her Team

22

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When She Made Her DWTS Debut

23

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Then Showed Us She Can Tango Like No One Else Can

24

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When She Let Her Emotions Show After the Foxtrot

25

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When She Told Ellen DeGeneres Her Dance Secret Is Looking Like She's Smelling Quesadillas

26

And, Of Course, When She Won the Mirror Ball Trophy — Getty | Steve Granitz

And, Of Course, When She Won the Mirror Ball Trophy