The two-time Olympic medalist, Laurie Hernandez, has officially secured a new achievement outside the arena. And her fellow elite gymnasts are buzzing with excitement to celebrate this on her social media.

Laurie just took to her Instagram to share a massive milestone in her career. In her new post, she was seen celebrating her graduation from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts with a degree in drama and creative writing. Fellow gymnasts Simone Biles and Olivia Dunne were among the first to celebrate the news in the comments.

Olympic legend Simone Biles was among the first to show her love for Laurie's milestone. She kept her message incredibly warm and affectionate, writing, “CONGRATS.”

This celebration brought a full-circle moment for both after the duo. They were part of the “Final Five” of Team USA at the 2016 Rio Olympics, which won the gold medal. And sharing that moment created a lifelong bond, making news of Laurie’s graduation more exciting for Simone Biles.

Also, former artistic gymnast Olivia Dunne brought high-energy enthusiasm, shouting out, “Congratulations!” highlighting how thrilled she is for her big day.

Laurie's decision to pursue drama at NYU came from the desire to get into acting and entertainment. Remaining close to her family on the East Coast was another reason, too.

In four years of drama school, Laurie spent two years at Stella Adler Studio studying Shakespeare's work.

Her passion for acting landed her a dream opportunity on Broadway, where she got the role of Charmion in '& Juliet'.

She then officially made her debut at the Stephen Sondheim Theatre on March 17, which will have a limited run till June 14.

The comment section of her celebratory post from fellow gymnasts instantly brought back memories of the historic Olympic milestone they achieved together.

A Look Back into Laurie's Gymnastics Career

Laurie Hernandez, after completing her homeschooling from Abeka Academy, enrolled on Monmouth Gymnastics Elite in New Jersey, to develop her skills for competing against regional powerhouses.

At the 2015 U.S. National Championship, she won the uneven bars title, a silver on floor exercise, and bronze medals on balance beam and vault as a junior.

After that, Laurie became the youngest member of Team USA at the Rio Olympics 2016, where she performed a flawless routine across three events. The USA went on to win the team gold medal by a record-breaking margin of eight points against Russia.

She also earned a silver medal on the balance beam, marking her legacy as an international gymnastics icon.

After Rio, she participated in Dancing with the Stars, and became the youngest champion in the show's history at just 16.

Before returning to the gym in 2019 to prepare for the Tokyo Olympics, she authored two books, 'I Got This: To Gold and Beyond', which was a New York Times bestseller, and "She's Got This".

However, her Tokyo dream was shattered by a severe knee injury during warm-ups, leading to her withdrawal from the US National Championship in 2021.

She later pivoted away from gymnastics and took the role of television analyst for NBC's gymnastics broadcast coverage at the Tokyo Games.

She then retired from elite athletics and focused on her education, and , as she graduated from NYU, she solidified her incredible transition from athlete to artist.

Read more at the Gymnastics Digest!

Written by

Sebi Mehta

Edited by

Koushik Biswas