July 28 is just a jinx for Team USA? This day just three years back, on that day, USA Gymnastics confirmed Simone Biles‘ withdrawal from the team final in Tokyo. Today again, is it a mere coincidence that the packed Bercy Arena saw Simone limping, hopping, and crawling with a calf injury during the qualifying rounds in the Paris Olympics? Spooky!

Simone hopped off the stage with a crooked smile on her face, but this one former gold medalist gymnast and teammate from the 2016 Rio Olympics was wearing her heart on her sleeve. Only this time, she sat on the other side of the camera as an NBC analyst, gasping and panic-stricken as the rest of us.

A day after Simone’s injury scare, our correspondent in Paris, Shreya Verma, sat with Laurie Hernandez, Simone Biles’ “Final Five” teammate. Laurie shared her thoughts on her close friend’s calf injury in an exclusive interview with EssentiallySports, in sponsorship with Olay Cleansing Melts. The gymnast reveals her skincare challenges during competitions, emphasizing the importance of vitamin C, hyaluronic acid, and a good cleanser in her current routine. Talking about her former teammate, she reveals…

EssentiallySports: “So many things happened we saw Simone getting injured, she was crawling. So, how was like for you and like what was going on? How tough was it?

Laurie Hernandez: “It can be really difficult just because there is a lot of empathy in terms of the athletes, especially Team USA, going out there competing. I’m friends with them so if anybody gets hurt or somebody has a fall, my heart definitely tears a little bit more than you know it normally would.”

Being the 2016 Rio Olympics silver medalist on the balance beam, Hernandez knows all about the high pressures of Olympic qualifications. Laurie Hernandez summed up what millions felt when she blurted out, “I think I’m gonna throw up,” during NBC’s live coverage as Simone Biles limped off the floor at the Bercy Arena right here in Paris. Indeed, fans everywhere could relate to what Laurie spelled out.

She laughed and told our correspondent, “I muttered it and realized the mic was on.” Known for being so vocal, Laurie is still getting used to keeping her true feelings in check.

The 24-year-old explained, “Qualifications is such a difficult competition and it has everybody trying to get into it, whether it’s their own individual spots or the team finals that’s coming up soon. So Team USA did get their qualifications in. It wasn’t a question but there was that worry of Simone and her injury.”

Laurie replayed the scene from yesterday, giving us an expert recap: “She had done floor warm-ups, came outside, said, “Oh, you know, I can feel something in my calf, and then just taped the ankle and headed a phenomenal floor routine.” How phenomenal?

Simone executed her floor routine with “unbelievable difficulty,” as described by the public announcer. Despite being heard saying, “It hurts to push off,” her routine showed off her gravity-defying Biles II on the floor, also known as the triple-twisting double back tuck. That earned her an impressive 14.6. But wait, the worry was not yet over.

During the vault warm-up, Simone landed her signature Yurchenko Double Pike (Biles II on vault) somewhat shaky, an unusual sight for her. After that, the arena witnessed her crawling on all fours. But as she sprinted through the runway, all the worry went away with bold steps. Although she took a large step back to stabilize her after the YDP, it earned her a blistering 15.800. So, what did Laurie Hernandez have to say about seeing the phenom continue despite the scare?

Laurie Hernandez has all praise for Simone for fighting through injury

Simone did limit the difficulty of her uneven bars routine, skipping a unique Weiler-Kip (a clear hip circle forward with 1.5 turns (540 degrees) to the handstand) skill she submitted to the International Gymnastics Federation on July 25. Instead, she did her usual set, scoring a 14.433, then tried to keep from putting too much weight on her leg after her dismount. The United States, with a total of 172.296 points, had the highest team score by a comfortable margin, followed by Italy, China, and Brazil.

Laurie, like all of us at the Bercy Arena and around the world, was amazed at the outcome and Simone Biles’ delivery despite the injury that could have sidelined her for the night.

With elation in her voice, Hernandez told EssentiallySports, “She’s got a lot of grit. Her coach had mentioned, you know, Cecile Landi was like there was no doubt in her mind that she would be competing; it was just a matter of an injury. The discomfort. Getting rid of some of the pain.” Alongside, she also gave a sneak peek at what goes on in the mind of a gymnast when they choose to compete tolerating pain.

“This is the highest stage of your life and I don’t recommend or encourage anyone to push through pain. But when it comes to through, comes to having to work so hard here, me it is 11 years before getting to the Olympics., And this is the moment when it counts, you’re going to work through a couple of injuries, to make sure you can show up for the team, for the country, also for yourself. So sometimes you just have to work through it. You can take care of it later,” said Laurie, who herself competed in 2016 with a small tear in her abs.

The qualification round also determined which gymnasts from the U.S. would advance to the individual all-around competition as well as the other individual events. Biles, obviously, was Team USA’s top all-around qualifier, with 59.566 points across the four disciplines.

Simone Biles looks forward to participating in the all-around, vault, balance beam, and floor exercise finals at the Paris Olympics. Noting the brilliant comeback, Laurie Hernandez exclaimed, “She rocked it. The rest of the team rocked it. Everybody got some of the finals here and there. And I’m excited to see the rest of the competition.”

Along with Laurie Hernandez, we are also excited to see how the women’s gymnastics finals unfold at the 12th arrondissement on the Boulevard de Bercy. By the way, the weather in Paris is living up to the summer hype, but it seems like the temperature will be on the rise with the upcoming gymnastics finals!