During the routinely interminable wait for her score to be posted after strolling across the balance beam with only the slightest of wobbles, Laurie Hernandez flashed the brilliant smile that occasionally has been missing during these Olympic Games.
She knew. So much of the pressure for the United States to win the women’s team gymnastics gold medal had fallen on Hernandez, a 16-year-old in her first Olympics, and her performance on the beam was so good it was obvious she’d done exactly what was necessary for the Americans to win. There was nothing mathematically official at that point, but there no longer was any doubt who would be on the highest step of the podium.