Fans of the Olympics find a new star. And Laurie Hernandez is not even competing this time

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Fans of the Olympics find a new star. And Laurie Hernandez is not even competing this time

2024-08-04 18:39 Last Updated At：18:40

PARIS (AP) — Laurie Hernandez pauses briefly and taps her head.

“There's a lot going on in here,” the two-time Olympic gymnastics medalist turned TV analyst said with a laugh. “There's a lot of chatter.”

Yes, there is.

And whatever gets through the filter — which, to be clear, is most of it — has helped make the 24-year-old's foray into commentating a hit with both TV viewers and those like Hernandez who are perennially online.

Eight years ago in Rio de Janeiro, she was the youngest member of the Simone Biles -led “Final Five” team that stormed to the gold medal. Hernandez added a silver on beam later in those Games, where her boundless energy helped make her a breakout star.

Not much has changed in Paris other than Hernandez's point of view.

There are nerves to be sure when she slips her headset on alongside broadcast partner Rich Lerner, just very different ones than the kind she experienced as an athlete.

Yet when she starts to talk, the affection she still feels for her sport well into her retirement is obvious. So is the wonder that creeps into her commentary when the camera happens to catch someone famous in the stands, as it did during the women's all-around finals when actor/comedian Seth Rogen popped up on the monitor in front of Hernandez's spot in the media tribune inside Bercy Arena.

“Of all the people you could cut to? Like, that’s so cool,” Hernandez said. “But, like, I just would not expect, like, Seth Rogen to go to gymnastics.”

Call that the “Biles effect." What's happening during the competition on screens — TVs, phone or otherwise — back in the U.S. might best be described as the “Hernandez effect.”

She mixes empathy, education and laughter with equal measure. She spent a decade inside a sport that at times can take far more than it gives. Those memories are never too far away, and they have help inform her approach.

“I don’t know many sports, you know, who are like, ‘Oh, I fear for my life every time I turn,’” Hernandez said.

And because of that, she's careful to note mistakes but not harp on them. It's gymnastics. Perfection is unattainable. So why place that level of expectation on athletes doing the hardest skills ever done?

Wobbles and falls are as much a part of the sport as leotards and chalk. They are inevitable. She prefers to explain how they happened so viewers who might only stumble across it once every four years understand.

The same goes for when routines are done exquisitely. Sometimes what the viewer sees and the judges see are different things and when the score flashes there's a “wait, what?” element involved.

Welcome to the world of what she's calling “ghost deductions.”

“To the naked eye, this looks like the most marvelous thing, and it is," she said. “But there are deductions that you cannot see at home that I can see or the judges can see, and it’s up to you to just listen to it or not.”

The gymnasts aren't the only ones being judged. Hernandez would love to tell you she buries her phone in her pocket and ignores whatever capital T “Thoughts” social media might have on her performance. She can't. She's Gen Z. At this point in her life, it's practically in her DNA. She's not afraid to clap back at critics if only to respectfully ask they simply not tag her in their posts so she can scroll in peace.

There will be times when something happens in front of her and some reference — be it from TikTok or elsewhere — will pop into her head and it transforms from thought to her microphone in a flash.

Is it “unprofessional” as she put it? Not really. It's her way of trying to stay as authentic as possible. When she gets nervous — and she does — she imagines she's sitting on a couch at a party.

“Everyone's got a glass of whatever you want and we all just happen to be like, besties hanging out,” Hernandez said. “And I just happen to know a lot about the thing that’s on TV.”

AP Summer Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games

Verstappen takes pole for Sunday's Formula 1 Japanese Grand Prix

2025-04-05 16:18 Last Updated At：16:21

SUZUKA, Japan (AP) — Max Verstappen of Red Bull will start from pole position in the Japanese Grand Prix after turning in the top time in qualifying on Saturday in his final attempt.

Lando Norris of McLaren will start alongside on Sunday with teammate Oscar Piastri on the second row with Charles Leclerc of Ferrari.

Verstappen claimed the pole on his final lap, setting a lap-record for the Japanese circuit of 1 minute 26.983 seconds. It was his 41st pole.

Verstappen was asked how this ranked among his many accomplishments in F1.

“If you look at how our season started — even during this weekend, yeah it’s very unexpected,” he said, "and I think that makes it, probably, a very special one.”

“It's insane,” he added.

Verstappen gave some credit to the track itself at Suzuka in central Japan, and credit to the recent resurfacing of the circuit.

“When I enjoy the track it’s even more fun to drive," he said. “It was crazy fast.”

He then added: “For us, it’s a great little surprise.”

Norris and Piastri have won the first two Formula 1 races of the season. Now Verstappen is set up in good shape to win his fourth straight race in Japan.

Rain is also expected for Sunday, which might help Verstappen, who is regarded as the best in F1 in the wet.

It's also a chance for Verstappen to break out of a tiny slump. Despite being a four-time defending champion, he has only won two of his last 16 races.

Verstappen has won 63 F1 races. Only Lewis Hamilton with 105 and Michael Schumacher with 91 have won more.

Hamilton, the seven-time champion, will start from eighth on Sunday for Ferrari.

The second of three qualifying sessions was stopped with 8:26 remaining by a small fire in the grass on the fringe of the track.

Officials have decided to burn the grass at the edge of track in preparation for Sunday’s race. Four small fires broke out in Friday and Saturday's practice sessions, the dry brush set aflame by sparks from passing cars

Japanese driver Yuki Tsunoda, promoted to Red Bull last week from its second team, will start from the back of the grid after going out in the second of three qualifying sessions.

AP auto racing: https://apnews.com/hub/auto-racing