August 5, 2025 • 42 mins
Olympic gold medalist turned gymnastics analyst Laurie Hernandez joins Sarah to talk about gaining confidence behind the mic, what it’s like watching the sport she once dominated, and who she’s most excited to see at this week’s U.S. Gymnastics Championships. (This interview properly salutes and then sticks the landing—if we do say so ourselves!) Plus, a hometown champ is crowned in France, a baby bump reveal that left us in awe, and a reminder that even in these dark times schools still have to comply with Title IX.
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Follow Laurie on Instagram here
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Check out Odicci Alexander-Bennett’s TikTok pregnancy announcement here
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Read Sportico’s story on Stephen F. Austin’s Title IX suit here
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The WNBA schedule is here
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The full U.S. Gymnastic Championships broadcast schedule is here
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Leave us a voicemail at 872-204-5070 or send us a note at goodgame@wondermedianetwork.com
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Follow Sarah on social! Bluesky: @sarahspain.com Instagram: @Spain2323
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Follow producer Misha Jones! Bluesky: @mishthejrnalist.bsky.social Instagram: @mishthejrnalist
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:00):
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where Lola Blue's
a weekend just wrapped, and while Doci was court side
at the Sky game and Olivia Rodrigo was kicking it
at the Cubs game, I was just sitting at home
trying to figure out when I got so out of touch.
Their bands named People are Ugly, Mary Droppins and twenty
three Scadoo in the Secret Agency. It's Tuesday, August fifth,
(00:22):
and on today's show, we're talking to Olympic gold medalist
turn gymnastics analyst Lori Hernandez about who she's excited to
watch it this week's US Gymnastics Championships, how she's gained
confidence as an analyst for NBC, and what her own
post gymnastics life looks like. Plus a hometown champ is
crowned in France, a baby bump reveal that left us
in awe, and a reminder that even in these dark times,
(00:44):
schools still have to comply with Title nine. It's all
coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's what
you need to know today. Start with cycling Le Tour
de France fem concluded on Sunday with Pauline van Provo,
(01:05):
winning the nine stage race in her tour debut to
become the first French rider to win La Tour de
France FEM. She finished three minutes forty two seconds ahead
of second place finisher Demi Voloring of the Netherlands, who
was also runner up last year and winner of the
event in twenty twenty three. Faran Provo blazed a somewhat
unusual path to competing in this year's race now, while
most competitors focus on road cycling full time, she said
(01:28):
most of her previous experience in mountain biking, an event
that features shorter races over rocky terrain. She won Olympic
gold and mountain biking at last year's Paris Olympics before
committing to road cycling in twenty twenty five for the
first time since twenty eighteen, and that mountain biking experience
may have actually helped her this year, said runner up Voloring. Quote,
This Tour de France was maybe a bit more for
(01:49):
the pure, pure climbers, but you don't know what's next year,
so never say never, end quote. To softball, following a
stellar AUSL season in which she helped the Bandits make
it to the inaugural title series Pitcher Odyssey, Alexander Bennett
has shared that she's pregnant and due in January. Alexander
Bennett announced the news via a TikTok video, during which
she showed how she concealed her baby bump under spandex
(02:12):
shorts and her bandits jersey throughout the AUSL season. We'll
link to that video in the show notes. Super Cute
set to some very relevant audio from the Little Rascals
to the world of college sports and specifically the athletic
department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Back in May, the school announced it was cutting four teams,
women's bowling, women's beach volleyball, and men's and women's golf.
Six female athletes subsequently filed a Title nine lawsuit, and
over the weekend, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction
temporarily preventing the school from cutting the three women's teams.
In response, the school said it plans to appeal the injunction,
(02:50):
saying in a statement provided to Sportico that quote the
text of Title nine states that institutions may not discriminate
on the basis of sex and there was no evidence
presented that SA decision was based on sex. The evidence
was overwhelming that the decision was based on economics end quote.
The lawyer for the athletes, meanwhile, argued that even when
schools make budget decisions, they cannot violate Title nine, which
(03:12):
states that schools must provide female students with proportional opportunities.
We'll link to that full Sportico story in the show
notes if you want to learn more.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
About the case to hoops.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
There are five WNBA games tonight that includes a contest
between the Indiana Fever and Los Angeles Sparks at ten
pm Eastern. Now, both of those teams have been pretty
hot of late. The Fever of won five straight games,
dating back to their winner for the Las Vegas Aces
on July twenty fourth. All those games won without the
on court help of Caitlin Clark, who's been out with
a groin injury since July sixteenth. The Sparks, meanwhile, have
(03:44):
won seven of their last nine games, including a two
overtime thriller over the Seattle Storm on Friday.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Also at ten.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Pm Eastern, tonight, the Minnesota Links take on the Seattle
Storm in Seattle. We should get our first look at
DJ Carrington in a Links jersey after she was traded
to the Links by the Win on Sunday. Links will
be without Superstar and Afisa Collier, who sustained an ankle
injury in Minnesota's trouncing of the Aces on Saturday. Collier
estimated to miss at least two weeks. We'll link to
(04:11):
the full WNBA schedule in the show notes. Finally, let's
tie up a few loose ends from Track and Field Nationals,
which wrapped up on Sunday in Eugene, Oregon. That includes
a tumultuous week for sh Carrie Richardson. Richardson was arrested
just days ahead of the Championships on fourth degree domestic
violence charges after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, fellow sprinter
(04:33):
Christian Coleman at the Seattle Tacoma Airport, per a police
report obtained by The Athletic, Richardson was taken into custody
after she repeatedly shoved Coleman during an argument while they
went through security at the airport. Coleman declined to press charges,
leading the case against Richardson to be dismissed. She still
competed in Eugene. On Friday, she ran the opening round
(04:53):
of the one hundred meters before withdrawing from that event.
As the twenty twenty three world champion, she still has
an automatic buy into this year's Worldhichampionship competition in that
one hundred meters. On Sunday, she raised her first two
hundred meter of the season, finishing fourth in her semi
final heat and narrowly missing the final. On Sunday, Coleman,
who also competed in Eugene but didn't qualify for the
(05:14):
US team for Worlds, defended Richardson, saying he didn't think
she should have been arrested.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
She has things that she needs to work on for herself.
Of course, so do I, so do you, so does everybody.
But I'm the type of guy who's in the business
of extending grace and mercy and love end quote. Richardson meanwhile,
declined to comment about the incident and her arrest when
asked about it by members of the media at Nationals.
We got to take a quick break. When we come back.
(05:40):
It's Laurie Hernandez joining US now. She's a retired gymnast
who is a member of the famed US women's gymnastics
team dubbed the Final Five that won goal at the
twenty sixteenth Summer Olympics, where she also took silver individually
on the balance beam. In addition to doing commentary for gymnastics,
(06:02):
she was the winner of season twenty three of Dancing
with the Stars, the encourse reporter for the first season
of American Ninja Warrior Junior, an actress in the Nickelodeon
animated miniseries Middle School Moguls, and the author of two books,
The New York Times best selling I Got This to
Golden Beyond, and She's Got This a children's book.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
She sings and plays guitar.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
She's a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame,
and she's known to post a tear filled book review
on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's Laurie Hernandez.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Hi, Laurie, Oh my goodness, what an intro. Hello, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I have not read that book yet, but according to
all the comments under your book review, it was spot on.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
It's your last name without the ass like it's literally
that book ruined my life in the best way possible.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Is it the same woman who wrote She's like.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Very private husbands of Evely and Hugo. Yeah yeah, yeah,
oh my god, she did that. She did Daisy Jones
and the six.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
There's like, I need to read your books. I've heard
such good things. I'm so excited to have you on.
I've seen you do interviews with my Julie Foudy. I've
obviously seen you compete senior commentary.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You're such a light.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
You bring such an energy to everything you do, and
I want to know what you're working on now because
you're so busy.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You do a lot of stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Oh well, I'm currently an NBC Sports Gymnastics analyst. There's
actually US Championships is happening this weekend, so I will
be on, you know, kind of near the competition floor.
We've got Friday at seven forty five pm Eastern Time
on Peacock and then Sunday at seven pm Eastern time
live on NBC and Peacock. So I feel very excited
that even though I'm a retired athlete, I still get
(07:33):
to share some of that gymnastics knowledge because it's just
sitting in the dome.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Yeah, well that's why you're here. We're gonna pick your
brain about those championships. But are you still at NYU's
Tish School of the Arts, or did you graduate?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
I am. I'm in my senior year, so I've got
a year left. I'm taking sixteen credits this summer, so
we are knocking them out. Your girl is tired and happy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So what are you studying.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I'm a drama major and creative writing minor.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Oh my gosh, amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Okay, because I know your interest in acting and you've
done a lot of it in voiceover work. So what
percentage of your classmates and teachers immediately are like, that's
the Olympic gymnast And how many do you think are
just in their own world and have no idea You're
not enormy.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's really funny because I feel like in New York
people don't really care as much, and I get I've
had some really interesting interactions with some professors. I think
my favorite one was that my teacher was trying to
refer to writing an essay as how to learn a backflip,
and we watched a video and how to learn a backflip,
and then at the very end of the class, she
was like, but you would know all about that, and
(08:37):
she it was We went the entire semester without you
thinking I went under the radar. I always get so
nervous though. If a professor's like, I know who you are,
I'm like, now, you have such high expectations for me
for the rest of the semester.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Right, did you get up and just do a backflip
in class just to be like, let me show y'all?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I thought about it.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
No, No, I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Okay, because I can do the splits, and you get
me a couple of drinks in, and I'll do the
splits almost anywhere.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I think it just makes a party better.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Oh, a couple drinks in. I'm doing handstands, Okay, that's
what's gonna say. Okay, sore shaking hands across the screen,
that's okay.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Where are you doing the gymnastics in your life? Do
the skills come in handy? Are they just at parties?
Are you still gymnastic in any capacity?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Not too much. Sometimes I'll do like little dance workouts
or dance rehearsals with some of my friends. There's a
lot of movement based classes at NYU for acting as well,
so I feel like I've gotten some abstract Pilate's.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Work in if you will.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
But no, it's it's been pretty great to have a
break and to not have to wake up at eight
am and do hit workouts. I'm a really big fan
of that. The grind has definitely seemed to like a
brisk walk, which I'm cool.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
So that leads me to what do you miss the
least about being a professional athlete?
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Oh my god, you know, I've actually never gotten ask
this question. It's always like, you know, is it the
competition floor, is it the rush of adrenaline? I'm like,
I have anxiety that least favorite part. Yeah, I think
those pre meat nerves was probably my least favorite part.
(10:16):
And you know, I worked with sports psychologists to figure
out like what breathing techniques and different things that I
could use in my toolbox to make sure that you know,
even if like my hands are shaking and I feel
like I'm gonna throw up, I can still do a
good job and trust myself to do a good job.
But man ooh that minute and a half right before
you get on the equipment. So for some people that's
(10:36):
like that's their superhero moment, that's the moment where they
rise to the occasion meat, I'm thrown up in the
back I'm thrown up in the back, that's not my
time to shine. But once I'm on the equipment, it
feels like home.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So did you ever get suggestions like Isa Ray and
Insecure where you had to give yourself a pep talk
in the mirror and you know, tell yourself how great
you are?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Oh yeah, but it would usually happen right before getting
onto the equipment, And that was something that I turned
into a gift like meme at some point because I
kept whispering and muttering to myself like I got this,
I'm gonna be fine. Everything is gonna be fine. You
trained so hard for this. And there's a really close
up of me mouthing all of these things and like
(11:15):
rocking back and forth a little, you know, so gott
a yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Does and does any of your adult anxiety compare to
gymnastics anxiety, whether it's for a final or a date
or anything, like, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
When you get older, there's.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So much more to worry about, but also there's so
much more you also sort of maybe acquire enough skills
to figure out yourself and how to best approach that worry.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Yeah, you know, I The feeling is always the same,
like the feeling and all the physical sensations that I
get when I'm really anxious still lingers, and is still
the same when I have to do a play and
put on a scene, or when I'm doing an audition,
or if I'm doing like a keynote speaking event like that,
(12:03):
that feeling is always the same. So I feel really
grateful that I come from a background where I have
to work through that. I'm kind of forced to work
through that and trust that even though I'm feeling this way,
I can still do amazing things and trust myself to
show up when it counts, knowing that feeling is probably
always going to be there for the rest of my life.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
On the opposite side, what do you miss the most
about being a professional athlete?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Oh, I miss just playing. One of my favorite parts
about gymnastics, especially like in the summertime, is when you
get to open up like the windows and the garage
doors and you're blasting music. And this happened more so
when I was younger, because elite meat season happens in
the summer, so then you know you got to kind
of put your boot pull your bootstraps up and like
get ready to go. Yeah. Yeah, But like I was.
(12:51):
I was at that age twelve thirteen ish where I
was learning new skills and all my teammates were learning
new skills, and that was just such a fun time
because you're trying new things. You're wiping out left and right,
people are laughing, and it just there's a lot of
joy in the room. There's a lot of freedom and
movement and being like I'm doing a new thing and
(13:12):
I'm safe, so yeah, gosh.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I mean, that's one of the best parts about being
young is just throwing your body around not a care
in the world, like just believing everything's gonna work out.
And the older you get, the more careful you are,
Like stepping off a curb and you're like, how did
it used to just do anything and not worry at all?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
This is a thing. This is They try to teach
you all the like scary skills when you're a kid
because you can't really comprehend like.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
The danger what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, danger, what you're doing. And I remember trying to
learn new skills as a sixteen year old as a
twenty year old and being like, yo, this is wild.
What am I doing?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
You're an adult and you're letting me do this. This
doesn't seem like a good idea. Yeah, I'm wondering about
life after gymnastics, Like, how chi are you? Because you
actually you're also dating your girlfriend. Charlotte Drury is a
former Olympic trampoline athlete, which is another sport that requires
some real guts to get out there and just throw
your body around. So who's the bigger risk taker in
(14:12):
life post retirement?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Ooh, biggest risk taker? Definitely Charlie. Definitely Charlotte. I like
I'm kind of a hermit. I will stay indoors at
all times if allowed. Like Cole, Surprised was a dream
COVID when I got to like hide in my nook
of an apartment before I ended up going to Jersey
(14:35):
and being with my family, and that was awesome. I
wouldn't trade it for the world. And I know my
COVID experience was very, very lucky compared to literally most
out there. But those few weeks where I was locked inside, oh,
I had a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Are you an extroverted introvert.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
I'm an introvert that's not super shy. I'm very awkward,
but not just yeah, because.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You're so outgoing and you seem so natural and comfortable
talking to any one that that's surprising. What an interesting
combo speaking of your outgoing nature. You are such a
gift to gymnastics commentary. It is so honest, it's so funny,
it's so authentic. Did it feel natural to ride away,
to step into that role.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It took a second to get my footing underneath me.
We did a lot of rehearsals for it, which I
was grateful for because I didn't know what I was doing.
I had no idea what I was doing. My job
for like fifteen years was to be upside down. So
it definitely was a different experience. But I loved gab.
You know, I'll gab. I'll do it. I'll talk to
a wall for an hour. I can do that. My
(15:39):
therapist loves me. I'll just keep going. It's really hard,
but I was trying to find the balance between sharing
my personality while also making sure that I was talking
about the sport in a way that felt grounded and
that felt like I also wasn't talking down to an audience,
but also those who were big fans of the sport
and that know it better than I do. Honestly, would
(16:00):
still enjoy the commentary, and it's a really tough line
to split. But I felt like I found my footing
on the first day of the Paris Games, where it
was one of the qualifications. We had to commentate from
eight am to around ten pm at night and there
were five subdivisions. Oh my gosh. I had started out,
(16:21):
you know, I was like, I got my little poll
on on and I'm a big kid, and everyone's gonna
take me seriously, and I'm gonna I'm gonna rock this
and they're gonna hear my voice and they're gonna be like, yeah,
she takes things really seriously. But you know, by hour six, yeah,
girl got real tired. I got real tired. And at
some point I was like, yeah, there she goes as
(16:44):
someone's getting ready to vall. And I think that exhaustion
was a gift, because all of a sudden, my own
personality started to come out, and people seem to respond
really well to it. They seemed to really like how
familiar and how easy it was to just listen to
someone bringing things at like an equal ground. And seeing
(17:07):
that response, I have never felt luckier because then I
got to go out there and just be myself. I
got to crack jokes when.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
It felt right.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I got to get quiet. I got to share mental
health experiences like performance anxiety and things that I know
are happening out there to the audience. I got to say, hey,
you saw this girl have a really big fault. It
was just warm ups. I know you're probably stressed about that.
I would be stressed about that. And it almost felt
like gabbing to a lot of friends, even though I
couldn't really see who was on the other side. So well,
(17:36):
I'm hurt, so grateful.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
That personal experience is so key for something that feels
very unrelatable to most of the audience, where like we
couldn't do any of this, Like there was a great
moment during the Olympics last year where you talked about
watching balance beam you could tell how nervous an athlete
was if their ankles were shaking, And so that's the
kind of insight that we're not going to notice, and
(17:59):
you're going to be a to bring us into that
moment because we also, like, honestly, we would assume that
everyone's nervous all the time. But to your point earlier,
some of the athletes are stepping up and that's their
superhero moment of like this is when I'm gonna shine.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
I got this, and some of them are absolutely terrified.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
So you kind of bringing us in and explaining to us,
like really what it feels like to be out there.
It's so helpful because it's relatable while at the same
time reminding us, like we always joke about how there
should be a normy out there in every event next
to the I love that idea, so we can actually
see what they're doing. Is like we know with gymnastics
how hard it is, but you also sort of welcome
(18:35):
us in, which is so great, you know. I also
was thinking about watching the Paris Games last year was
so joyful the gymnastics competition. It was a really fascinating
look at a very quickly changing sport.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
In my opinion, the smiles, the laughter.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
The lightness, the incredible sportsmanship between the competitors and the countries.
It just felt different. How different did it feel to
you watching from even just a few years ago when
you were competing.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Oh my goodness, it is night and day practically, I
mean at the very end, seeing all the like us
women go out with their little socks on and run
around the floor with the American flag because they had
just one team finals at the Olympics, Like it brought
me so much joy, and I remember tearing up and
(19:22):
having my phone out and I felt like the mom
and mean girls.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Be like, you're doing great, You're doing great, sweetie, like.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
You know, but it just that kind of joy and
that kind of comfortability on the competition floor allows for
some really great gymnastics because if you're just so stressed
the entire time about you know, well, I got to
make sure that not only on the mat that I'm perfect,
but off the mat, I am perfect. And if I
don't look like I'm paying attention, then I need to
(19:53):
coseplay that I look like I'm paying attentions. That way,
nobody comments on me not paying attention. Like there's just
such a fishbowl energy that used to be so prominent
and it felt like you couldn't breathe. So it's like,
of course, of course everyone's going to feel so tense.
And seeing everyone out there cheering each other on, seeking
out support from their teammates, that was a really big
(20:15):
shift and I was really happy to see that.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yeah, it felt like unfortunately a lot of things had
to hit sort of rock Bottom for that to come about.
Whether that's Larry Nass or whether that's the Corolis, whether
that's Maggie Hainey. You've got these examples of people in
power positions in the sport that were abusing and misusing
their role.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And I feel like.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
As much as that took a toll on so many
of the folks involved, they were also so many of
the folks who were a part of changing things and
saying we've seen how it was, we wanted to be
different for the people coming up. And I wonder if
you think the current team that doesn't have any of
those older established veterans can continue that healthy culture or
if they'll be vulnerable to folks in power trying to
(20:58):
bring us back to that sort of intimidation and culture.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Yeah. You know the leads for USAG right now, all
the coordinators. There's Alicia Sacramony Quinn, there's Chelsea Memo, there's
Betty Akino. We've got like a triple threat leadership going
on right now. And I've chatted with them quite in
depth about a lot of this, and I know their
biggest thing is making sure that all the women out
there feel supported, that they don't feel threatened, but still
(21:24):
that they feel pushed. Like just because you're not screaming
at someone and like being super personal about the corrections
and whatnot, doesn't mean that you all of a sudden
have to back off and compliment every little second. And
I remember when I had first started speaking up about
different coaching styles and kind of the environment that I
had trained in, which was very kind of emotionally and
(21:46):
verbally abusive and hostile, everyone being kind of like, well,
what do you expect? Do you just want someone to
compliment you all the time? I was like, Dahl, I
grew up in a Puerto Rican household, I have thick skin,
and I promise like there's a middle ground. And I
feel like they have done a phenomenal job navigating the
middle ground and navigating when the athletes need to push
and the athletes feel comfortable showing up to them being like, Hey,
(22:09):
I'm hav an issue with this thing. I want to
fix it because I want to be better. And there's
a lot of different verbiage going around, there's a lot
of different energies going around now. The year after the
Olympics is always a little bit wonky. It kind of
feels like a recalibration of sorts because we're not seeing
the familiar faces that we might see every four years
at the Olympics. But it doesn't have anything to do with,
(22:33):
you know, leadership shifting and people being like, well, maybe
they're just snowflakes on it now, Like, no, this is
what happens every single quod and we're going to see
some great gymnastics coming up in the next few years. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I have to say the coaches who argue that kids
these days are soft and they can't coach them real anymore,
I think of them as lazy and lacking imagination and
probably not great coaches if they can't figure out how
to motivate without screaming. It reminds me of comedians who
are like, if I can't, you know, say offensive words, how.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Can I be funny?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
And I'm like, well, you're probably not a very good
comedian then if that's the only thing you can rely
on for your bits.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, I used to hear all the time like, well,
I'm just brutally honest and you'll just have to take in.
I'm like, why be brutal, you can be honest. I
think there's actually another way to do this. Where you're
like telling me the truth and you're not absolutely hammering
into my DNA about this, like there is a way
to do this. And it's so tough because it's like, oh,
you're too sensitive, You're to this, You're to that. I'm like,
if something goes a hair wrong and the need to
(23:30):
project and be loud comes instantly, one of us is
being very reactive right now, and I promise I don't
think it's me.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
And also to your point, if they get to say
that's just how I am and they never adjust to
that's just how you are, then that's not being a
good coach.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
That's I was like, yeah, just yeah, yeah, I feel yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
All right, let's talk about these US Gymnastics Championships coming
up in New Orleans August seventh to tenth. Athletes are
going to be battling both for US titles and for
spots on the national team. We are so glad you're
here to help us get ready for them, because it
is particularly hard in a non Olympic year.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So let's start big picture. How different does it feel.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
For the athletes competing in these big meets in non
Olympic years, And are the athletes that we're seeing competing
in part a result of it being an Olympic year.
Would there be other names in here if they were
getting ready for a big games.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It definitely depends on when those kind of notorious names,
like if someone Biles were to come back, if Sonny
Lee were to come back, like all of those things,
how long it would take post Olympics to recover and
then to train and come back. And usually the year
right after the Games is not often one that you'll
see Olympians back. And that's why it's so exciting to
(24:40):
see athletes like Hesley Rivera a year after the Games
coming back. She's got a gold medal from team finals,
and you know, that's kind of like the future of
USA gymnastics that we're looking at. I will say for
US Classics that happened a few weeks ago, Claire Peas
absolutely smashed it. And that's an athe who She's just
(25:01):
so clean and so precise, and I feel excited and
curious about the trajectory of her gymnastics, knowing that at
such a young age she can handle such pressure and
there's really something to be said for that. So she's
one to watch out for. Jayla Haang is one to
watch out for, as she competed earlier this year internationally
(25:22):
and just did so well. And we're also looking at
Simone Rose, who came in second at Classics, and also
a lot of the gymnasts at Classics don't often do
all four events because it tends to you want to
pace yourself as the year goes by, and sometimes it's like, Okay,
we're gonna still refine some of these routines and whatnot
(25:42):
and make sure that they're perfect for Championships, whereas other
athletes are like, no, I want the repetition. I want
to get out there. I want to feel confident that
I can hit all four under pressure. And so we'll
see a lot of different types of gymnastics at Championships
that we didn't see at Classics due to athletes not
doing all four events.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Talk about the members of the US women's team that
we did see from the Paris Games. We've got, as
you mentioned, gold medalist Hesleie Rivera, but also replacement athletes
Leanne Wong and Jocelyn Robertson. So let's start with Hesley.
What are you watching for with her in this competition?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
In this competition, I'm really looking for consistency. She is
one who is such a powerhouse, and I know sometimes
whether it's endurance or whether it's nerves, some of those
little and big mistakes tend to come up. And I
want to see her go out there and just smash
it because I know she can do it, And watching
some of those workouts, I'm like, yeah, you got it
(26:34):
in the bag. You just you got to hit and
she can do it. We know she can do it.
Leanne Wong such a consistent athlete. I feel like every
time I watch her out there on the competition floor,
I can take a deep breath and relax because I
know what's coming. And there's something really special about that.
It's a little bit like twenty twelve's Olympian Kyla Ross,
where you watch her on the balance beam and it's
(26:56):
like watching yoga. It's like watching someone take a deep
breath and do their skills and ex hill with every
landing that they do, and I'm like, yeah, I trust you.
So that's definitely an athlete to keep an eye out on.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Lee.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
That's an interesting one too, because she had a kind
of tough final collegiate season at Florida. At Nationals, they
ended up falling short of the final four on the floor,
which is the competition for the national title, by one
tenth that stood between them and that, And I wonder
if you think that she's got a little edge to
her coming into this competition because that's the last really
(27:30):
major competition she had and wasn't able to compete for
individual or national title.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Oh yeah, one tenth will make your eye twitch. That's
something that will make you feel like you're going a
little mad. There have been I've had competitions where I've
won by a tenth and I've lost by a tenth,
and it riles me up just thinking about it, because
that's that's landing with your feet together, that's hitting your
handstands on an even bars, that's having just a higher
(27:57):
block on the vault table. I mean, it is minute thing.
Sometimes it's just pointing your toes. Sometimes it's just not
shuffling your feet on the landing. I mean, you can
grab a tenth anywhere. So that would really take me off.
And I know that she's quite a competitive athlete. It's
why we still see her competing in the elite scene.
I would not be shocked if that definitely lights a
(28:18):
fire in her.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Meantime, we've got Jocelyn Robertson, who was a US team alternate,
was fantastic in her freshman campaign at the University of Arkansaw.
She qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual and
now is back in this elite space. What will you
be watching for when it comes to her in this championships.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Jocelyn is such a powerful athlete. When we look at Okay,
we want to find the athlete who might be Everyone
always says like, oh, the next this person, the next that.
But if we're looking for quote quote the next Simone Biles,
someone who is powerful, someone who can tumble high, someone
who runs real fast and attacks the equipment without any
sort of fear in their eyes, that's Jocelyn Robertson. I mean,
(28:58):
opening up your fluoritine with a double twisting double laout
and it's practically perfect every single time. Is just such
a monster feat. And I remember watching her at Classics
and seeing her do a double layout for her third
pass and then a double out for her fourth pass,
which is telling us, oh, this is just a timer.
I want to do something harder come Championships. This is
just my little warm up Hey, that was the hardest
(29:20):
tumbling pass that I could do. It was my first
pass in twenty sixteen, and she chose them as her
two last passes. So I feel like that's quite an
indicator of just how strong she is and also how
much she's able to attack the equipment. And she's also
just such a team leader. When you talk to her,
she feels like a captain. She feels like someone who
is grateful for the position that she's in. We talked
(29:40):
to her about being an alternate for the team, and
she was like, you know, it was always my dream
to make an Olympic team. I did it. I'm not
gonna not be grateful for this. I did it. I'm
proud of myself. I'm gonna milk every second of it.
And I feel like someone with that optimistic mindset is
exactly someone like Team USA needs, and so I just
get so excited when I see her. I try some
big favorites, but we can tell.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
We can tell.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Let's talk about sky Blakely because a year ago she
was a favorite to make the Olympic team. She had
this really impressive runner up finished just Simone Biles at
the twenty twenty four Nationals. Then she tears her achilles
during practice ahead of the US Trials. This was heartbreaking
for everyone to watch. What's the toughest part about coming
back from an injury like that.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
It's trust in the physical body, for sure. And we
had chatted with her about that, and she had talked
about that, about the feelings of going back into practice
and just not trusting being able to kind of put
all your weight onto it. And she's worked so hard
and now she feels a lot more confident in that.
But there's always that fear of if I go and
(30:44):
I go to do this tumbling pass and I put
my entire heart and soul into it, I really hit
the floor as hard as I need to go, Can
I trust that my body will hold up? And that's
always something that is in everyone's minds. It's not a
new concept. Jemnasics is a dangerous sport and if you're
not afraid, you're not paying attention. And yet sky is
(31:04):
back out here. This is one of the most i
in my opinion, resilient athletes in terms of how she
saw her injury as an opportunity for growth and as
encouragement to keep going and to talk with her after
Trials post injury and to see her and be like, hey,
(31:25):
how are you doing? And she was like, you know what,
this happened to me once before getting injured at trials.
It happened to me again. Last time. I got through it.
I'm still here. All that tells me is that I'm
still here and I got through it, and I'm gonna
keep trying again. I'm gonna get back into the gym,
I'm gonna heal and all's gonna be well. And I
was like, wow, dude, the last time I got injured,
like right into therapy. And it's not to say that
(31:49):
she doesn't struggle, but man, is that an awesome mindset
to have for a professional athlete. It's exactly what you need.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, you talked about Jocelyn being one of the leaders.
It's pretty wild to think about how you've got, you
know these Hesley last year was the up and comer
next to Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Sunny Lee, Jade Carrey.
But now she and Jocelyn are sort of the veterans,
at least during this part of the quad. When you
talk about that changing of the guard, is that something
(32:17):
that's felt within the team do they have to rise
to that occasion, whether or not it feels natural to them.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Absolutely, it's it tends to add or it can not always,
but it can add a little bit of pressure into
all of Temusa, into being who's like, who's going to
step up, who's going to lead? And it seems like
Jocelyn's really taken that in such stride, and I'm simply
not shocked because someone Wiles is her teammate, And when
(32:44):
you watch someone be a leader and you watch them
do it well, of course, it can be easy to
mimic those tendencies and mimic the behavior of like, guys,
we can do this, we can totally do this, and
we're strong and we're going to keep moving forward. So
sometimes it just takes that representation of how to be
a good leader to be one. And I'm not surprised
that people like jos and Sky are out there again
(33:05):
and just excited to be competing.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Even just a decade ago, it felt like the athletes
that showed up at these post Olympic meets as sixteen
year old wouldn't make it all the way to the
next Olympics because they'd be too old quote unquote at
the age of like nineteen. But thank goodness, we've seen
some of that change. There's more longevity and elite gymnastics.
What do you attribute that to the increased longevity in
(33:27):
the sport?
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I keepe bringing her name up, but Simone has really
done a phenomenal job at being and I hate to
be like being an older athlete because she's not old.
It's like mid to late twenties. But for gymnastics, we're
typically told that our lifespan, not only that our gymnastics
lifespan is short, but we're told that we peak at sixteen.
We're constantly told that we peak as a young teenager
(33:50):
because you're quote quote small, and your agile and your
drive is the highest, and you have the most energy.
And people like Simone. There's Asana Chesovitna who's forties plus
and competing at World Championships and Olympic Games. There's Rebecca Androgy.
There's all these athletes globally who are like, I'm gonna
go ahead and train smarter and still hard, but train
(34:14):
smarter and not hammer on as many numbers, and I'm
gonna protect my body and I'm gonna go out there
and I'm gonna keep doing what I love because that's
what I want to do. And I think that mindset
definitely makes it a lot easier for someone who, you know,
might be a new senior who has just turned sixteen
and is now looking, you know, at the next games
and being like, oh wait a second, my age is
(34:34):
not gonna determine whether or not I'm good enough to
get there. I just have to pace myself. And that's
oh my god. Isn't that a message for everything? That
you want to pace yourself and you want to train smart,
and you want to pay attention to your surroundings and
to your body and to your brain.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
It's really cool and I do love that.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Simone had to eventually apologize to Ali Raisman for calling
her grandma when.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
She was she had grandma tendencies.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Yes, she's so, I'm gonna also just about okay, no.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Not about the age at all. She would wake up
and take naps in the morning, which now I totally.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Get something into it.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
He will. We will reach out to Ali and we're like, hey, girl,
for shaming you about the naps, Ken, but she had
grandma tendencies and I still call her grandma.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
My producer Alex just typed in the chat that Oxana
just celebrated her fiftieth birthday and won a medal at
a World Challenge Cup event earlier this summer. Like that's
I feel like really bad about myself, Like, how was
she doing that?
Speaker 2 (35:32):
That's insane that.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
It's just so impressive, you know what.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
We're also learning a lot more about women's bodies, and
we're learning not to underestimate ourselves as much as the
world used to.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
So we love to see that.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I want to ask you quickly about Jordan Chiles and
her individual floor medal from last year's Paris Olympics, so
quick refresher for those who don't remember. She initially claimed bronze,
then she was stripped of the medal after the Court
of Arbitration for Sport ruled that her coach had submitted
an appeal of her score four seconds too late. But
then Child's appealed that decision to the Federal Supreme Court
of Switzerland.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
We've heard very little in the last twelve months.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I think the last we heard from Jordan is that
she's still got that medal and she's not giving it back.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
What do you know about the latest on that.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I don't have the latest news on that, but I
do remember watching that moment happen in real time and
seeing the inquiries go in and kind of just biting
my nails at it. And it's just it's the whole
thing is so heartbreaking when it comes to timing. When
it comes to the inquiry that was submitted, it's for
(36:35):
a leap that often doesn't get credit, but she got
it all the way around. And then there's the question
of did she get it all the way around and
everyone's like, yes, she got it all the way around,
and then the public is like, well, shouldn't the judges
have been able to catch that the first time around?
And it's like that's hey, hey, there's a lot happening
at all times. They are writing things as they're looking
up and judging everything. Sometimes things get missed, and that's
(36:59):
why the ability to submit an inquiry exists, is to
be like, hey, as the coach, like I watch this thing,
I want to enquire about this. This feels wrong. And
just the way that it unfolded so publicly.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Was I felt for her opponent too, I felt for
everybody yeah involved, like it's just a lot. Well, we'll
be keeping an eye on what happens with that, And
of course we'll be watching the Championships and now we
feel so much more ready for them.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Thanks to you, so thank you for the insight. We
look forward to watching.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. It was
great chatting with you.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Thanks again to Laurie for hanging out. Make sure to
tune in and listen to her analysis at this week's
US Gymnastics Championships.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
The women's competition.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Gets underway on Friday in New Orleans, and we'll link
to the full broadcast schedule in the show notes.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
We got to take another break.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
When we come back, it's time for the return of
Are you Seeing what I'm Seeing? Welcome back slices. It's
time for another edition of are you Seeing what I'm Seeing?
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Oh my god, I cantually I believe this is how
that ione I heard about anyone's talking about?
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Okay, get in here, Alex.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
All right, So all this talk about gymnastics had me
thinking about, you know, which of our faves might ramp
back up to compete in the twenty twenty eight Olympics,
And of course that had me thinking about the goat
Simone Biles and if she might come back.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
But well, are you seeing what I'm seeing?
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Like two things in particular, that the Goat has acquired
two new friends, let's say pals. She's been working on
her pecks. It's something I've been wanting to get off
my chest for a while, you know, the fact that
(38:51):
she's got things on her chest.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And if that signals anything to us.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Sarah, are you trying to say that Simone had a
boob job?
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. She definitely got
a boom up. And I'm wondering if that means she's
not gonna come back. Not that you can't do gymnastics
with new titties, but you know, is she coming back?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Does that mean she's not?
Speaker 1 (39:11):
And is this her right telling us she's retiring, but
she's not gonna tell us she's just gonna get new titties.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
I would kind of love that for her to be
totally honest.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
For that to be in the official announcement. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Anyway, I'm not saying that that's official. I'm not saying
you can't come back after that. I just was wondering
if it said anything to us about her plans for
the future. We love that you're listening, but we want
you to get in the game every day too, So
here's our good game play the day. Follow Laurie Hernandez
on social media. She's a blast on there. We'll link
to her Instagram in the show notes. And we always
(39:44):
love to hear from you, so hit us up on
email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two o four fifty
seventy and don't forget to subscribe a rate and review, y'all.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
It's real easy.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Watch Alicia Clark shoes for the Seattle Storms Sick Stanuel
Kicks for Equality auction rating one of one pairs of
custom sneaks review. Every year, the Seattle Storm hold this
charity auction called Kicks for Equality, and it features custom
design sneakers worn by Storm players and coaches, and other memorabilia.
(40:16):
This year forward, Alisha Clark chose protect My Public Media
as her cause, working with a BIPOC women's sneaker artist
to create shoes featuring the logo for Reading Rainbow, Arthur Clifford,
the Big Red Dog, and more. Clark wrote in a
statement that she wanted to raise awareness about quote the
effects of federal budget cuts on access to educational, cultural,
and local emergency services for communities, particularly rural and underserved
(40:40):
ones that lack cable television access. Our zip code shouldn't
dictate our ability to access essential programming. As someone who
grew up watching Reading Rainbow, Wishbone, Mister Rogers Neighborhood and
Bill ny the science Guy, I believe it's crucial that
we use our collective voices to ensure the continued availability
of these resources for this generation and future generation.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
First of all, shouts to Alisha for bringing attention to
this cause. It's so important. Also just for clarity's sake,
because I wasn't sure myself. You might have heard that
on Friday, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting the CPB, announced
it would begin.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Winding down operations.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
This comes after President Trump rescinded one point one billion
in funding to the nonprofit. Now, this doesn't mean an
immediate end to national organizations like NPR or PBS, who
generate their own revenue and just get a small share
of direct federal funding, but the decision is expected to
pose serious challenges to their local member stations who rely
(41:36):
heavily on grants for the CPB those rural places that
Alisha talked about interstatement. So again, good on Alisha for
bringing attention to this. The auction is over, but of
course you can always donate to your local PBS and
NPR stations and call your congress get loud about this stuff.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Now it's your turn rate and review. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
See you tomorrow when we talk to the newest member
of the Kansas City Current Ali Setnor, Good Game, Lori,
Good Game, Simone Hugh, everyone trying to cancel our childhoods.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(42:17):
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain,
Welcome to Good Game with Sarah Spain, where Lola Blue's
a weekend just wrapped, and while Doci was court side
at the Sky game and Olivia Rodrigo was kicking it
at the Cubs game, I was just sitting at home
trying to figure out when I got so out of touch.
Their bands named People are Ugly, Mary Droppins and twenty
three Scadoo in the Secret Agency. It's Tuesday, August fifth,
(00:22):
and on today's show, we're talking to Olympic gold medalist
turn gymnastics analyst Lori Hernandez about who she's excited to
watch it this week's US Gymnastics Championships, how she's gained
confidence as an analyst for NBC, and what her own
post gymnastics life looks like. Plus a hometown champ is
crowned in France, a baby bump reveal that left us
in awe, and a reminder that even in these dark times,
(00:44):
schools still have to comply with Title nine. It's all
coming up right after this welcome back slices. Here's what
you need to know today. Start with cycling Le Tour
de France fem concluded on Sunday with Pauline van Provo,
(01:05):
winning the nine stage race in her tour debut to
become the first French rider to win La Tour de
France FEM. She finished three minutes forty two seconds ahead
of second place finisher Demi Voloring of the Netherlands, who
was also runner up last year and winner of the
event in twenty twenty three. Faran Provo blazed a somewhat
unusual path to competing in this year's race now, while
most competitors focus on road cycling full time, she said
(01:28):
most of her previous experience in mountain biking, an event
that features shorter races over rocky terrain. She won Olympic
gold and mountain biking at last year's Paris Olympics before
committing to road cycling in twenty twenty five for the
first time since twenty eighteen, and that mountain biking experience
may have actually helped her this year, said runner up Voloring. Quote,
This Tour de France was maybe a bit more for
(01:49):
the pure, pure climbers, but you don't know what's next year,
so never say never, end quote. To softball, following a
stellar AUSL season in which she helped the Bandits make
it to the inaugural title series Pitcher Odyssey, Alexander Bennett
has shared that she's pregnant and due in January. Alexander
Bennett announced the news via a TikTok video, during which
she showed how she concealed her baby bump under spandex
(02:12):
shorts and her bandits jersey throughout the AUSL season. We'll
link to that video in the show notes. Super Cute
set to some very relevant audio from the Little Rascals
to the world of college sports and specifically the athletic
department at Stephen F. Austin State University in Texas.
Speaker 2 (02:28):
Now.
Speaker 1 (02:28):
Back in May, the school announced it was cutting four teams,
women's bowling, women's beach volleyball, and men's and women's golf.
Six female athletes subsequently filed a Title nine lawsuit, and
over the weekend, a federal judge issued a preliminary injunction
temporarily preventing the school from cutting the three women's teams.
In response, the school said it plans to appeal the injunction,
(02:50):
saying in a statement provided to Sportico that quote the
text of Title nine states that institutions may not discriminate
on the basis of sex and there was no evidence
presented that SA decision was based on sex. The evidence
was overwhelming that the decision was based on economics end quote.
The lawyer for the athletes, meanwhile, argued that even when
schools make budget decisions, they cannot violate Title nine, which
(03:12):
states that schools must provide female students with proportional opportunities.
We'll link to that full Sportico story in the show
notes if you want to learn more.
Speaker 2 (03:19):
About the case to hoops.
Speaker 1 (03:22):
There are five WNBA games tonight that includes a contest
between the Indiana Fever and Los Angeles Sparks at ten
pm Eastern. Now, both of those teams have been pretty
hot of late. The Fever of won five straight games,
dating back to their winner for the Las Vegas Aces
on July twenty fourth. All those games won without the
on court help of Caitlin Clark, who's been out with
a groin injury since July sixteenth. The Sparks, meanwhile, have
(03:44):
won seven of their last nine games, including a two
overtime thriller over the Seattle Storm on Friday.
Speaker 2 (03:50):
Also at ten.
Speaker 1 (03:51):
Pm Eastern, tonight, the Minnesota Links take on the Seattle
Storm in Seattle. We should get our first look at
DJ Carrington in a Links jersey after she was traded
to the Links by the Win on Sunday. Links will
be without Superstar and Afisa Collier, who sustained an ankle
injury in Minnesota's trouncing of the Aces on Saturday. Collier
estimated to miss at least two weeks. We'll link to
(04:11):
the full WNBA schedule in the show notes. Finally, let's
tie up a few loose ends from Track and Field Nationals,
which wrapped up on Sunday in Eugene, Oregon. That includes
a tumultuous week for sh Carrie Richardson. Richardson was arrested
just days ahead of the Championships on fourth degree domestic
violence charges after she allegedly assaulted her boyfriend, fellow sprinter
(04:33):
Christian Coleman at the Seattle Tacoma Airport, per a police
report obtained by The Athletic, Richardson was taken into custody
after she repeatedly shoved Coleman during an argument while they
went through security at the airport. Coleman declined to press charges,
leading the case against Richardson to be dismissed. She still
competed in Eugene. On Friday, she ran the opening round
(04:53):
of the one hundred meters before withdrawing from that event.
As the twenty twenty three world champion, she still has
an automatic buy into this year's Worldhichampionship competition in that
one hundred meters. On Sunday, she raised her first two
hundred meter of the season, finishing fourth in her semi
final heat and narrowly missing the final. On Sunday, Coleman,
who also competed in Eugene but didn't qualify for the
(05:14):
US team for Worlds, defended Richardson, saying he didn't think
she should have been arrested.
Speaker 2 (05:18):
Quote.
Speaker 1 (05:19):
She has things that she needs to work on for herself.
Of course, so do I, so do you, so does everybody.
But I'm the type of guy who's in the business
of extending grace and mercy and love end quote. Richardson meanwhile,
declined to comment about the incident and her arrest when
asked about it by members of the media at Nationals.
We got to take a quick break. When we come back.
(05:40):
It's Laurie Hernandez joining US now. She's a retired gymnast
who is a member of the famed US women's gymnastics
team dubbed the Final Five that won goal at the
twenty sixteenth Summer Olympics, where she also took silver individually
on the balance beam. In addition to doing commentary for gymnastics,
(06:02):
she was the winner of season twenty three of Dancing
with the Stars, the encourse reporter for the first season
of American Ninja Warrior Junior, an actress in the Nickelodeon
animated miniseries Middle School Moguls, and the author of two books,
The New York Times best selling I Got This to
Golden Beyond, and She's Got This a children's book.
Speaker 2 (06:18):
She sings and plays guitar.
Speaker 1 (06:20):
She's a member of the New Jersey Hall of Fame,
and she's known to post a tear filled book review
on Instagram.
Speaker 2 (06:24):
It's Laurie Hernandez.
Speaker 3 (06:26):
Hi, Laurie, Oh my goodness, what an intro. Hello, thanks
for having me.
Speaker 1 (06:31):
I have not read that book yet, but according to
all the comments under your book review, it was spot on.
Speaker 3 (06:38):
It's your last name without the ass like it's literally
that book ruined my life in the best way possible.
Speaker 2 (06:43):
Is it the same woman who wrote She's like.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
Very private husbands of Evely and Hugo. Yeah yeah, yeah,
oh my god, she did that. She did Daisy Jones
and the six.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
There's like, I need to read your books. I've heard
such good things. I'm so excited to have you on.
I've seen you do interviews with my Julie Foudy. I've
obviously seen you compete senior commentary.
Speaker 2 (07:03):
You're such a light.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
You bring such an energy to everything you do, and
I want to know what you're working on now because
you're so busy.
Speaker 2 (07:09):
You do a lot of stuff.
Speaker 3 (07:11):
Oh well, I'm currently an NBC Sports Gymnastics analyst. There's
actually US Championships is happening this weekend, so I will
be on, you know, kind of near the competition floor.
We've got Friday at seven forty five pm Eastern Time
on Peacock and then Sunday at seven pm Eastern time
live on NBC and Peacock. So I feel very excited
that even though I'm a retired athlete, I still get
(07:33):
to share some of that gymnastics knowledge because it's just
sitting in the dome.
Speaker 1 (07:37):
Yeah, well that's why you're here. We're gonna pick your
brain about those championships. But are you still at NYU's
Tish School of the Arts, or did you graduate?
Speaker 3 (07:45):
I am. I'm in my senior year, so I've got
a year left. I'm taking sixteen credits this summer, so
we are knocking them out. Your girl is tired and happy.
Speaker 2 (07:55):
So what are you studying.
Speaker 3 (07:57):
I'm a drama major and creative writing minor.
Speaker 2 (07:59):
Oh my gosh, amazing.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Okay, because I know your interest in acting and you've
done a lot of it in voiceover work. So what
percentage of your classmates and teachers immediately are like, that's
the Olympic gymnast And how many do you think are
just in their own world and have no idea You're
not enormy.
Speaker 3 (08:15):
It's really funny because I feel like in New York
people don't really care as much, and I get I've
had some really interesting interactions with some professors. I think
my favorite one was that my teacher was trying to
refer to writing an essay as how to learn a backflip,
and we watched a video and how to learn a backflip,
and then at the very end of the class, she
was like, but you would know all about that, and
(08:37):
she it was We went the entire semester without you
thinking I went under the radar. I always get so
nervous though. If a professor's like, I know who you are,
I'm like, now, you have such high expectations for me
for the rest of the semester.
Speaker 1 (08:49):
Right, did you get up and just do a backflip
in class just to be like, let me show y'all?
Speaker 3 (08:54):
I thought about it.
Speaker 2 (08:56):
No, No, I didn't know.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Okay, because I can do the splits, and you get
me a couple of drinks in, and I'll do the
splits almost anywhere.
Speaker 2 (09:02):
I think it just makes a party better.
Speaker 3 (09:04):
Oh, a couple drinks in. I'm doing handstands, Okay, that's
what's gonna say. Okay, sore shaking hands across the screen,
that's okay.
Speaker 1 (09:11):
Where are you doing the gymnastics in your life? Do
the skills come in handy? Are they just at parties?
Are you still gymnastic in any capacity?
Speaker 3 (09:20):
Not too much. Sometimes I'll do like little dance workouts
or dance rehearsals with some of my friends. There's a
lot of movement based classes at NYU for acting as well,
so I feel like I've gotten some abstract Pilate's.
Speaker 2 (09:34):
Work in if you will.
Speaker 3 (09:36):
But no, it's it's been pretty great to have a
break and to not have to wake up at eight
am and do hit workouts. I'm a really big fan
of that. The grind has definitely seemed to like a
brisk walk, which I'm cool.
Speaker 1 (09:51):
So that leads me to what do you miss the
least about being a professional athlete?
Speaker 3 (09:56):
Oh my god, you know, I've actually never gotten ask
this question. It's always like, you know, is it the
competition floor, is it the rush of adrenaline? I'm like,
I have anxiety that least favorite part. Yeah, I think
those pre meat nerves was probably my least favorite part.
(10:16):
And you know, I worked with sports psychologists to figure
out like what breathing techniques and different things that I
could use in my toolbox to make sure that you know,
even if like my hands are shaking and I feel
like I'm gonna throw up, I can still do a
good job and trust myself to do a good job.
But man ooh that minute and a half right before
you get on the equipment. So for some people that's
(10:36):
like that's their superhero moment, that's the moment where they
rise to the occasion meat, I'm thrown up in the
back I'm thrown up in the back, that's not my
time to shine. But once I'm on the equipment, it
feels like home.
Speaker 1 (10:46):
So did you ever get suggestions like Isa Ray and
Insecure where you had to give yourself a pep talk
in the mirror and you know, tell yourself how great
you are?
Speaker 3 (10:55):
Oh yeah, but it would usually happen right before getting
onto the equipment, And that was something that I turned
into a gift like meme at some point because I
kept whispering and muttering to myself like I got this,
I'm gonna be fine. Everything is gonna be fine. You
trained so hard for this. And there's a really close
up of me mouthing all of these things and like
(11:15):
rocking back and forth a little, you know, so gott
a yeah.
Speaker 1 (11:20):
Does and does any of your adult anxiety compare to
gymnastics anxiety, whether it's for a final or a date
or anything, like, I don't know.
Speaker 2 (11:29):
When you get older, there's.
Speaker 1 (11:31):
So much more to worry about, but also there's so
much more you also sort of maybe acquire enough skills
to figure out yourself and how to best approach that worry.
Speaker 3 (11:42):
Yeah, you know, I The feeling is always the same,
like the feeling and all the physical sensations that I
get when I'm really anxious still lingers, and is still
the same when I have to do a play and
put on a scene, or when I'm doing an audition,
or if I'm doing like a keynote speaking event like that,
(12:03):
that feeling is always the same. So I feel really
grateful that I come from a background where I have
to work through that. I'm kind of forced to work
through that and trust that even though I'm feeling this way,
I can still do amazing things and trust myself to
show up when it counts, knowing that feeling is probably
always going to be there for the rest of my life.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
On the opposite side, what do you miss the most
about being a professional athlete?
Speaker 3 (12:27):
Oh, I miss just playing. One of my favorite parts
about gymnastics, especially like in the summertime, is when you
get to open up like the windows and the garage
doors and you're blasting music. And this happened more so
when I was younger, because elite meat season happens in
the summer, so then you know you got to kind
of put your boot pull your bootstraps up and like
get ready to go. Yeah. Yeah, But like I was.
(12:51):
I was at that age twelve thirteen ish where I
was learning new skills and all my teammates were learning
new skills, and that was just such a fun time
because you're trying new things. You're wiping out left and right,
people are laughing, and it just there's a lot of
joy in the room. There's a lot of freedom and
movement and being like I'm doing a new thing and
(13:12):
I'm safe, so yeah, gosh.
Speaker 1 (13:14):
I mean, that's one of the best parts about being
young is just throwing your body around not a care
in the world, like just believing everything's gonna work out.
And the older you get, the more careful you are,
Like stepping off a curb and you're like, how did
it used to just do anything and not worry at all?
Speaker 3 (13:32):
This is a thing. This is They try to teach
you all the like scary skills when you're a kid
because you can't really comprehend like.
Speaker 2 (13:38):
The danger what you're doing.
Speaker 3 (13:40):
Yeah, danger, what you're doing. And I remember trying to
learn new skills as a sixteen year old as a
twenty year old and being like, yo, this is wild.
What am I doing?
Speaker 1 (13:50):
You're an adult and you're letting me do this. This
doesn't seem like a good idea. Yeah, I'm wondering about
life after gymnastics, Like, how chi are you? Because you
actually you're also dating your girlfriend. Charlotte Drury is a
former Olympic trampoline athlete, which is another sport that requires
some real guts to get out there and just throw
your body around. So who's the bigger risk taker in
(14:12):
life post retirement?
Speaker 3 (14:13):
Ooh, biggest risk taker? Definitely Charlie. Definitely Charlotte. I like
I'm kind of a hermit. I will stay indoors at
all times if allowed. Like Cole, Surprised was a dream
COVID when I got to like hide in my nook
of an apartment before I ended up going to Jersey
(14:35):
and being with my family, and that was awesome. I
wouldn't trade it for the world. And I know my
COVID experience was very, very lucky compared to literally most
out there. But those few weeks where I was locked inside, oh,
I had a good time.
Speaker 2 (14:48):
Are you an extroverted introvert.
Speaker 3 (14:51):
I'm an introvert that's not super shy. I'm very awkward,
but not just yeah, because.
Speaker 1 (14:56):
You're so outgoing and you seem so natural and comfortable
talking to any one that that's surprising. What an interesting
combo speaking of your outgoing nature. You are such a
gift to gymnastics commentary. It is so honest, it's so funny,
it's so authentic. Did it feel natural to ride away,
to step into that role.
Speaker 3 (15:17):
It took a second to get my footing underneath me.
We did a lot of rehearsals for it, which I
was grateful for because I didn't know what I was doing.
I had no idea what I was doing. My job
for like fifteen years was to be upside down. So
it definitely was a different experience. But I loved gab.
You know, I'll gab. I'll do it. I'll talk to
a wall for an hour. I can do that. My
(15:39):
therapist loves me. I'll just keep going. It's really hard,
but I was trying to find the balance between sharing
my personality while also making sure that I was talking
about the sport in a way that felt grounded and
that felt like I also wasn't talking down to an audience,
but also those who were big fans of the sport
and that know it better than I do. Honestly, would
(16:00):
still enjoy the commentary, and it's a really tough line
to split. But I felt like I found my footing
on the first day of the Paris Games, where it
was one of the qualifications. We had to commentate from
eight am to around ten pm at night and there
were five subdivisions. Oh my gosh. I had started out,
(16:21):
you know, I was like, I got my little poll
on on and I'm a big kid, and everyone's gonna
take me seriously, and I'm gonna I'm gonna rock this
and they're gonna hear my voice and they're gonna be like, yeah,
she takes things really seriously. But you know, by hour six, yeah,
girl got real tired. I got real tired. And at
some point I was like, yeah, there she goes as
(16:44):
someone's getting ready to vall. And I think that exhaustion
was a gift, because all of a sudden, my own
personality started to come out, and people seem to respond
really well to it. They seemed to really like how
familiar and how easy it was to just listen to
someone bringing things at like an equal ground. And seeing
(17:07):
that response, I have never felt luckier because then I
got to go out there and just be myself. I
got to crack jokes when.
Speaker 2 (17:14):
It felt right.
Speaker 3 (17:14):
I got to get quiet. I got to share mental
health experiences like performance anxiety and things that I know
are happening out there to the audience. I got to say, hey,
you saw this girl have a really big fault. It
was just warm ups. I know you're probably stressed about that.
I would be stressed about that. And it almost felt
like gabbing to a lot of friends, even though I
couldn't really see who was on the other side. So well,
(17:36):
I'm hurt, so grateful.
Speaker 1 (17:38):
That personal experience is so key for something that feels
very unrelatable to most of the audience, where like we
couldn't do any of this, Like there was a great
moment during the Olympics last year where you talked about
watching balance beam you could tell how nervous an athlete
was if their ankles were shaking, And so that's the
kind of insight that we're not going to notice, and
(17:59):
you're going to be a to bring us into that
moment because we also, like, honestly, we would assume that
everyone's nervous all the time. But to your point earlier,
some of the athletes are stepping up and that's their
superhero moment of like this is when I'm gonna shine.
Speaker 2 (18:12):
I got this, and some of them are absolutely terrified.
Speaker 1 (18:15):
So you kind of bringing us in and explaining to us,
like really what it feels like to be out there.
It's so helpful because it's relatable while at the same
time reminding us, like we always joke about how there
should be a normy out there in every event next
to the I love that idea, so we can actually
see what they're doing. Is like we know with gymnastics
how hard it is, but you also sort of welcome
(18:35):
us in, which is so great, you know. I also
was thinking about watching the Paris Games last year was
so joyful the gymnastics competition. It was a really fascinating
look at a very quickly changing sport.
Speaker 2 (18:47):
In my opinion, the smiles, the laughter.
Speaker 1 (18:49):
The lightness, the incredible sportsmanship between the competitors and the countries.
It just felt different. How different did it feel to
you watching from even just a few years ago when
you were competing.
Speaker 3 (19:02):
Oh my goodness, it is night and day practically, I
mean at the very end, seeing all the like us
women go out with their little socks on and run
around the floor with the American flag because they had
just one team finals at the Olympics, Like it brought
me so much joy, and I remember tearing up and
(19:22):
having my phone out and I felt like the mom
and mean girls.
Speaker 1 (19:25):
Be like, you're doing great, You're doing great, sweetie, like.
Speaker 3 (19:31):
You know, but it just that kind of joy and
that kind of comfortability on the competition floor allows for
some really great gymnastics because if you're just so stressed
the entire time about you know, well, I got to
make sure that not only on the mat that I'm perfect,
but off the mat, I am perfect. And if I
don't look like I'm paying attention, then I need to
(19:53):
coseplay that I look like I'm paying attentions. That way,
nobody comments on me not paying attention. Like there's just
such a fishbowl energy that used to be so prominent
and it felt like you couldn't breathe. So it's like,
of course, of course everyone's going to feel so tense.
And seeing everyone out there cheering each other on, seeking
out support from their teammates, that was a really big
(20:15):
shift and I was really happy to see that.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
Yeah, it felt like unfortunately a lot of things had
to hit sort of rock Bottom for that to come about.
Whether that's Larry Nass or whether that's the Corolis, whether
that's Maggie Hainey. You've got these examples of people in
power positions in the sport that were abusing and misusing
their role.
Speaker 2 (20:32):
And I feel like.
Speaker 1 (20:34):
As much as that took a toll on so many
of the folks involved, they were also so many of
the folks who were a part of changing things and
saying we've seen how it was, we wanted to be
different for the people coming up. And I wonder if
you think the current team that doesn't have any of
those older established veterans can continue that healthy culture or
if they'll be vulnerable to folks in power trying to
(20:58):
bring us back to that sort of intimidation and culture.
Speaker 3 (21:01):
Yeah. You know the leads for USAG right now, all
the coordinators. There's Alicia Sacramony Quinn, there's Chelsea Memo, there's
Betty Akino. We've got like a triple threat leadership going
on right now. And I've chatted with them quite in
depth about a lot of this, and I know their
biggest thing is making sure that all the women out
there feel supported, that they don't feel threatened, but still
(21:24):
that they feel pushed. Like just because you're not screaming
at someone and like being super personal about the corrections
and whatnot, doesn't mean that you all of a sudden
have to back off and compliment every little second. And
I remember when I had first started speaking up about
different coaching styles and kind of the environment that I
had trained in, which was very kind of emotionally and
(21:46):
verbally abusive and hostile, everyone being kind of like, well,
what do you expect? Do you just want someone to
compliment you all the time? I was like, Dahl, I
grew up in a Puerto Rican household, I have thick skin,
and I promise like there's a middle ground. And I
feel like they have done a phenomenal job navigating the
middle ground and navigating when the athletes need to push
and the athletes feel comfortable showing up to them being like, Hey,
(22:09):
I'm hav an issue with this thing. I want to
fix it because I want to be better. And there's
a lot of different verbiage going around, there's a lot
of different energies going around now. The year after the
Olympics is always a little bit wonky. It kind of
feels like a recalibration of sorts because we're not seeing
the familiar faces that we might see every four years
at the Olympics. But it doesn't have anything to do with,
(22:33):
you know, leadership shifting and people being like, well, maybe
they're just snowflakes on it now, Like, no, this is
what happens every single quod and we're going to see
some great gymnastics coming up in the next few years. Yeah.
Speaker 1 (22:43):
I have to say the coaches who argue that kids
these days are soft and they can't coach them real anymore,
I think of them as lazy and lacking imagination and
probably not great coaches if they can't figure out how
to motivate without screaming. It reminds me of comedians who
are like, if I can't, you know, say offensive words, how.
Speaker 2 (23:01):
Can I be funny?
Speaker 1 (23:02):
And I'm like, well, you're probably not a very good
comedian then if that's the only thing you can rely
on for your bits.
Speaker 3 (23:07):
Yeah, I used to hear all the time like, well,
I'm just brutally honest and you'll just have to take in.
I'm like, why be brutal, you can be honest. I
think there's actually another way to do this. Where you're
like telling me the truth and you're not absolutely hammering
into my DNA about this, like there is a way
to do this. And it's so tough because it's like, oh,
you're too sensitive, You're to this, You're to that. I'm like,
if something goes a hair wrong and the need to
(23:30):
project and be loud comes instantly, one of us is
being very reactive right now, and I promise I don't
think it's me.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
And also to your point, if they get to say
that's just how I am and they never adjust to
that's just how you are, then that's not being a
good coach.
Speaker 2 (23:45):
That's I was like, yeah, just yeah, yeah, I feel yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:51):
All right, let's talk about these US Gymnastics Championships coming
up in New Orleans August seventh to tenth. Athletes are
going to be battling both for US titles and for
spots on the national team. We are so glad you're
here to help us get ready for them, because it
is particularly hard in a non Olympic year.
Speaker 2 (24:04):
So let's start big picture. How different does it feel.
Speaker 1 (24:07):
For the athletes competing in these big meets in non
Olympic years, And are the athletes that we're seeing competing
in part a result of it being an Olympic year.
Would there be other names in here if they were
getting ready for a big games.
Speaker 3 (24:19):
It definitely depends on when those kind of notorious names,
like if someone Biles were to come back, if Sonny
Lee were to come back, like all of those things,
how long it would take post Olympics to recover and
then to train and come back. And usually the year
right after the Games is not often one that you'll
see Olympians back. And that's why it's so exciting to
(24:40):
see athletes like Hesley Rivera a year after the Games
coming back. She's got a gold medal from team finals,
and you know, that's kind of like the future of
USA gymnastics that we're looking at. I will say for
US Classics that happened a few weeks ago, Claire Peas
absolutely smashed it. And that's an athe who She's just
(25:01):
so clean and so precise, and I feel excited and
curious about the trajectory of her gymnastics, knowing that at
such a young age she can handle such pressure and
there's really something to be said for that. So she's
one to watch out for. Jayla Haang is one to
watch out for, as she competed earlier this year internationally
(25:22):
and just did so well. And we're also looking at
Simone Rose, who came in second at Classics, and also
a lot of the gymnasts at Classics don't often do
all four events because it tends to you want to
pace yourself as the year goes by, and sometimes it's like, Okay,
we're gonna still refine some of these routines and whatnot
(25:42):
and make sure that they're perfect for Championships, whereas other
athletes are like, no, I want the repetition. I want
to get out there. I want to feel confident that
I can hit all four under pressure. And so we'll
see a lot of different types of gymnastics at Championships
that we didn't see at Classics due to athletes not
doing all four events.
Speaker 1 (26:00):
Talk about the members of the US women's team that
we did see from the Paris Games. We've got, as
you mentioned, gold medalist Hesleie Rivera, but also replacement athletes
Leanne Wong and Jocelyn Robertson. So let's start with Hesley.
What are you watching for with her in this competition?
Speaker 3 (26:14):
In this competition, I'm really looking for consistency. She is
one who is such a powerhouse, and I know sometimes
whether it's endurance or whether it's nerves, some of those
little and big mistakes tend to come up. And I
want to see her go out there and just smash
it because I know she can do it, And watching
some of those workouts, I'm like, yeah, you got it
(26:34):
in the bag. You just you got to hit and
she can do it. We know she can do it.
Leanne Wong such a consistent athlete. I feel like every
time I watch her out there on the competition floor,
I can take a deep breath and relax because I
know what's coming. And there's something really special about that.
It's a little bit like twenty twelve's Olympian Kyla Ross,
where you watch her on the balance beam and it's
(26:56):
like watching yoga. It's like watching someone take a deep
breath and do their skills and ex hill with every
landing that they do, and I'm like, yeah, I trust you.
So that's definitely an athlete to keep an eye out on.
Speaker 2 (27:09):
Lee.
Speaker 1 (27:09):
That's an interesting one too, because she had a kind
of tough final collegiate season at Florida. At Nationals, they
ended up falling short of the final four on the floor,
which is the competition for the national title, by one
tenth that stood between them and that, And I wonder
if you think that she's got a little edge to
her coming into this competition because that's the last really
(27:30):
major competition she had and wasn't able to compete for
individual or national title.
Speaker 3 (27:35):
Oh yeah, one tenth will make your eye twitch. That's
something that will make you feel like you're going a
little mad. There have been I've had competitions where I've
won by a tenth and I've lost by a tenth,
and it riles me up just thinking about it, because
that's that's landing with your feet together, that's hitting your
handstands on an even bars, that's having just a higher
(27:57):
block on the vault table. I mean, it is minute thing.
Sometimes it's just pointing your toes. Sometimes it's just not
shuffling your feet on the landing. I mean, you can
grab a tenth anywhere. So that would really take me off.
And I know that she's quite a competitive athlete. It's
why we still see her competing in the elite scene.
I would not be shocked if that definitely lights a
(28:18):
fire in her.
Speaker 1 (28:19):
Meantime, we've got Jocelyn Robertson, who was a US team alternate,
was fantastic in her freshman campaign at the University of Arkansaw.
She qualified for the NCAA Championships as an individual and
now is back in this elite space. What will you
be watching for when it comes to her in this championships.
Speaker 3 (28:35):
Jocelyn is such a powerful athlete. When we look at Okay,
we want to find the athlete who might be Everyone
always says like, oh, the next this person, the next that.
But if we're looking for quote quote the next Simone Biles,
someone who is powerful, someone who can tumble high, someone
who runs real fast and attacks the equipment without any
sort of fear in their eyes, that's Jocelyn Robertson. I mean,
(28:58):
opening up your fluoritine with a double twisting double laout
and it's practically perfect every single time. Is just such
a monster feat. And I remember watching her at Classics
and seeing her do a double layout for her third
pass and then a double out for her fourth pass,
which is telling us, oh, this is just a timer.
I want to do something harder come Championships. This is
just my little warm up Hey, that was the hardest
(29:20):
tumbling pass that I could do. It was my first
pass in twenty sixteen, and she chose them as her
two last passes. So I feel like that's quite an
indicator of just how strong she is and also how
much she's able to attack the equipment. And she's also
just such a team leader. When you talk to her,
she feels like a captain. She feels like someone who
is grateful for the position that she's in. We talked
(29:40):
to her about being an alternate for the team, and
she was like, you know, it was always my dream
to make an Olympic team. I did it. I'm not
gonna not be grateful for this. I did it. I'm
proud of myself. I'm gonna milk every second of it.
And I feel like someone with that optimistic mindset is
exactly someone like Team USA needs, and so I just
get so excited when I see her. I try some
big favorites, but we can tell.
Speaker 2 (30:02):
We can tell.
Speaker 1 (30:03):
Let's talk about sky Blakely because a year ago she
was a favorite to make the Olympic team. She had
this really impressive runner up finished just Simone Biles at
the twenty twenty four Nationals. Then she tears her achilles
during practice ahead of the US Trials. This was heartbreaking
for everyone to watch. What's the toughest part about coming
back from an injury like that.
Speaker 3 (30:23):
It's trust in the physical body, for sure. And we
had chatted with her about that, and she had talked
about that, about the feelings of going back into practice
and just not trusting being able to kind of put
all your weight onto it. And she's worked so hard
and now she feels a lot more confident in that.
But there's always that fear of if I go and
(30:44):
I go to do this tumbling pass and I put
my entire heart and soul into it, I really hit
the floor as hard as I need to go, Can
I trust that my body will hold up? And that's
always something that is in everyone's minds. It's not a
new concept. Jemnasics is a dangerous sport and if you're
not afraid, you're not paying attention. And yet sky is
(31:04):
back out here. This is one of the most i
in my opinion, resilient athletes in terms of how she
saw her injury as an opportunity for growth and as
encouragement to keep going and to talk with her after
Trials post injury and to see her and be like, hey,
(31:25):
how are you doing? And she was like, you know what,
this happened to me once before getting injured at trials.
It happened to me again. Last time. I got through it.
I'm still here. All that tells me is that I'm
still here and I got through it, and I'm gonna
keep trying again. I'm gonna get back into the gym,
I'm gonna heal and all's gonna be well. And I
was like, wow, dude, the last time I got injured,
like right into therapy. And it's not to say that
(31:49):
she doesn't struggle, but man, is that an awesome mindset
to have for a professional athlete. It's exactly what you need.
Speaker 1 (31:55):
Yeah, you talked about Jocelyn being one of the leaders.
It's pretty wild to think about how you've got, you
know these Hesley last year was the up and comer
next to Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Sunny Lee, Jade Carrey.
But now she and Jocelyn are sort of the veterans,
at least during this part of the quad. When you
talk about that changing of the guard, is that something
(32:17):
that's felt within the team do they have to rise
to that occasion, whether or not it feels natural to them.
Speaker 3 (32:23):
Absolutely, it's it tends to add or it can not always,
but it can add a little bit of pressure into
all of Temusa, into being who's like, who's going to
step up, who's going to lead? And it seems like
Jocelyn's really taken that in such stride, and I'm simply
not shocked because someone Wiles is her teammate, And when
(32:44):
you watch someone be a leader and you watch them
do it well, of course, it can be easy to
mimic those tendencies and mimic the behavior of like, guys,
we can do this, we can totally do this, and
we're strong and we're going to keep moving forward. So
sometimes it just takes that representation of how to be
a good leader to be one. And I'm not surprised
that people like jos and Sky are out there again
(33:05):
and just excited to be competing.
Speaker 1 (33:07):
Even just a decade ago, it felt like the athletes
that showed up at these post Olympic meets as sixteen
year old wouldn't make it all the way to the
next Olympics because they'd be too old quote unquote at
the age of like nineteen. But thank goodness, we've seen
some of that change. There's more longevity and elite gymnastics.
What do you attribute that to the increased longevity in
(33:27):
the sport?
Speaker 3 (33:28):
I keepe bringing her name up, but Simone has really
done a phenomenal job at being and I hate to
be like being an older athlete because she's not old.
It's like mid to late twenties. But for gymnastics, we're
typically told that our lifespan, not only that our gymnastics
lifespan is short, but we're told that we peak at sixteen.
We're constantly told that we peak as a young teenager
(33:50):
because you're quote quote small, and your agile and your
drive is the highest, and you have the most energy.
And people like Simone. There's Asana Chesovitna who's forties plus
and competing at World Championships and Olympic Games. There's Rebecca Androgy.
There's all these athletes globally who are like, I'm gonna
go ahead and train smarter and still hard, but train
(34:14):
smarter and not hammer on as many numbers, and I'm
gonna protect my body and I'm gonna go out there
and I'm gonna keep doing what I love because that's
what I want to do. And I think that mindset
definitely makes it a lot easier for someone who, you know,
might be a new senior who has just turned sixteen
and is now looking, you know, at the next games
and being like, oh wait a second, my age is
(34:34):
not gonna determine whether or not I'm good enough to
get there. I just have to pace myself. And that's
oh my god. Isn't that a message for everything? That
you want to pace yourself and you want to train smart,
and you want to pay attention to your surroundings and
to your body and to your brain.
Speaker 2 (34:48):
It's really cool and I do love that.
Speaker 1 (34:50):
Simone had to eventually apologize to Ali Raisman for calling
her grandma when.
Speaker 3 (34:55):
She was she had grandma tendencies.
Speaker 1 (34:56):
Yes, she's so, I'm gonna also just about okay, no.
Speaker 3 (35:00):
Not about the age at all. She would wake up
and take naps in the morning, which now I totally.
Speaker 2 (35:04):
Get something into it.
Speaker 3 (35:05):
He will. We will reach out to Ali and we're like, hey, girl,
for shaming you about the naps, Ken, but she had
grandma tendencies and I still call her grandma.
Speaker 2 (35:16):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (35:17):
My producer Alex just typed in the chat that Oxana
just celebrated her fiftieth birthday and won a medal at
a World Challenge Cup event earlier this summer. Like that's
I feel like really bad about myself, Like, how was
she doing that?
Speaker 2 (35:32):
That's insane that.
Speaker 3 (35:35):
It's just so impressive, you know what.
Speaker 1 (35:37):
We're also learning a lot more about women's bodies, and
we're learning not to underestimate ourselves as much as the
world used to.
Speaker 2 (35:44):
So we love to see that.
Speaker 1 (35:46):
I want to ask you quickly about Jordan Chiles and
her individual floor medal from last year's Paris Olympics, so
quick refresher for those who don't remember. She initially claimed bronze,
then she was stripped of the medal after the Court
of Arbitration for Sport ruled that her coach had submitted
an appeal of her score four seconds too late. But
then Child's appealed that decision to the Federal Supreme Court
of Switzerland.
Speaker 2 (36:06):
We've heard very little in the last twelve months.
Speaker 1 (36:08):
I think the last we heard from Jordan is that
she's still got that medal and she's not giving it back.
Speaker 2 (36:12):
What do you know about the latest on that.
Speaker 3 (36:15):
I don't have the latest news on that, but I
do remember watching that moment happen in real time and
seeing the inquiries go in and kind of just biting
my nails at it. And it's just it's the whole
thing is so heartbreaking when it comes to timing. When
it comes to the inquiry that was submitted, it's for
(36:35):
a leap that often doesn't get credit, but she got
it all the way around. And then there's the question
of did she get it all the way around and
everyone's like, yes, she got it all the way around,
and then the public is like, well, shouldn't the judges
have been able to catch that the first time around?
And it's like that's hey, hey, there's a lot happening
at all times. They are writing things as they're looking
up and judging everything. Sometimes things get missed, and that's
(36:59):
why the ability to submit an inquiry exists, is to
be like, hey, as the coach, like I watch this thing,
I want to enquire about this. This feels wrong. And
just the way that it unfolded so publicly.
Speaker 1 (37:13):
Was I felt for her opponent too, I felt for
everybody yeah involved, like it's just a lot. Well, we'll
be keeping an eye on what happens with that, And
of course we'll be watching the Championships and now we
feel so much more ready for them.
Speaker 2 (37:24):
Thanks to you, so thank you for the insight. We
look forward to watching.
Speaker 3 (37:28):
Oh, thank you so much for having me. It was
great chatting with you.
Speaker 1 (37:32):
Thanks again to Laurie for hanging out. Make sure to
tune in and listen to her analysis at this week's
US Gymnastics Championships.
Speaker 2 (37:38):
The women's competition.
Speaker 1 (37:39):
Gets underway on Friday in New Orleans, and we'll link
to the full broadcast schedule in the show notes.
Speaker 2 (37:45):
We got to take another break.
Speaker 1 (37:46):
When we come back, it's time for the return of
Are you Seeing what I'm Seeing? Welcome back slices. It's
time for another edition of are you Seeing what I'm Seeing?
Speaker 3 (38:02):
Oh my god, I cantually I believe this is how
that ione I heard about anyone's talking about?
Speaker 2 (38:06):
Okay, get in here, Alex.
Speaker 1 (38:08):
All right, So all this talk about gymnastics had me
thinking about, you know, which of our faves might ramp
back up to compete in the twenty twenty eight Olympics,
And of course that had me thinking about the goat
Simone Biles and if she might come back.
Speaker 2 (38:22):
But well, are you seeing what I'm seeing?
Speaker 1 (38:27):
Like two things in particular, that the Goat has acquired
two new friends, let's say pals. She's been working on
her pecks. It's something I've been wanting to get off
my chest for a while, you know, the fact that
(38:51):
she's got things on her chest.
Speaker 2 (38:53):
And if that signals anything to us.
Speaker 3 (38:55):
Sarah, are you trying to say that Simone had a
boob job?
Speaker 1 (38:59):
Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. She definitely got
a boom up. And I'm wondering if that means she's
not gonna come back. Not that you can't do gymnastics
with new titties, but you know, is she coming back?
Speaker 2 (39:10):
Does that mean she's not?
Speaker 1 (39:11):
And is this her right telling us she's retiring, but
she's not gonna tell us she's just gonna get new titties.
Speaker 3 (39:16):
I would kind of love that for her to be
totally honest.
Speaker 2 (39:19):
For that to be in the official announcement. Yeah, yeah, exactly.
Speaker 1 (39:24):
Anyway, I'm not saying that that's official. I'm not saying
you can't come back after that. I just was wondering
if it said anything to us about her plans for
the future. We love that you're listening, but we want
you to get in the game every day too, So
here's our good game play the day. Follow Laurie Hernandez
on social media. She's a blast on there. We'll link
to her Instagram in the show notes. And we always
(39:44):
love to hear from you, so hit us up on
email good game at wondermedianetwork dot com or leave us
a voicemail at eight seven two two o four fifty
seventy and don't forget to subscribe a rate and review, y'all.
Speaker 2 (39:55):
It's real easy.
Speaker 1 (39:56):
Watch Alicia Clark shoes for the Seattle Storms Sick Stanuel
Kicks for Equality auction rating one of one pairs of
custom sneaks review. Every year, the Seattle Storm hold this
charity auction called Kicks for Equality, and it features custom
design sneakers worn by Storm players and coaches, and other memorabilia.
(40:16):
This year forward, Alisha Clark chose protect My Public Media
as her cause, working with a BIPOC women's sneaker artist
to create shoes featuring the logo for Reading Rainbow, Arthur Clifford,
the Big Red Dog, and more. Clark wrote in a
statement that she wanted to raise awareness about quote the
effects of federal budget cuts on access to educational, cultural,
and local emergency services for communities, particularly rural and underserved
(40:40):
ones that lack cable television access. Our zip code shouldn't
dictate our ability to access essential programming. As someone who
grew up watching Reading Rainbow, Wishbone, Mister Rogers Neighborhood and
Bill ny the science Guy, I believe it's crucial that
we use our collective voices to ensure the continued availability
of these resources for this generation and future generation.
Speaker 2 (41:00):
End quote.
Speaker 1 (41:01):
First of all, shouts to Alisha for bringing attention to
this cause. It's so important. Also just for clarity's sake,
because I wasn't sure myself. You might have heard that
on Friday, the Corporation for Public Broadcasting the CPB, announced
it would begin.
Speaker 2 (41:14):
Winding down operations.
Speaker 1 (41:15):
This comes after President Trump rescinded one point one billion
in funding to the nonprofit. Now, this doesn't mean an
immediate end to national organizations like NPR or PBS, who
generate their own revenue and just get a small share
of direct federal funding, but the decision is expected to
pose serious challenges to their local member stations who rely
(41:36):
heavily on grants for the CPB those rural places that
Alisha talked about interstatement. So again, good on Alisha for
bringing attention to this. The auction is over, but of
course you can always donate to your local PBS and
NPR stations and call your congress get loud about this stuff.
Speaker 2 (41:53):
Now it's your turn rate and review. Thanks for listening.
Speaker 1 (41:56):
See you tomorrow when we talk to the newest member
of the Kansas City Current Ali Setnor, Good Game, Lori,
Good Game, Simone Hugh, everyone trying to cancel our childhoods.
Good Game with Sarah Spain is an iHeart women's sports
production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. You
can find us on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or
(42:17):
wherever you get your podcasts. Production by Wonder Media Network,
our producers are Alex Azzie and Misha Jones. Our executive
producers are Christina Everett, Jesse Katz, Jenny Kaplan, and Emily Rudder.
Our editors are Emily Rutter, Britney Martinez, Grace Lynch, and
Gianna Palmer. Our associate producer is Lucy Jones. Production assistance
from Avery Loftus and I'm Your Host Sarah Spain,
Host
Sarah Spain
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