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A Star Is Born As NJ's Laurie Hernandez Wins Gymnastics Gold In Rio

RIO DE JANEIRO (CBSNewYork) -- If the world didn't know Laurie Hernandez before Tuesday, it surely knows her now.

With her bubbly personality on full display, the Old Bridge, New Jersey, resident helped propel the U.S. women's gymnastics team to its second consecutive Olympic gold medal in Rio.

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Hernandez, 16, opened the competition by scoring a 15.1 on the vault, excelled on the balance beam and then gave a memorable performance in her floor routine, which she kicked off with a wink to the judges.

"To win an Olympic team gold at my first big international event -- I was too young for worlds last year -- that's insane," Hernandez said, according to TeamUSA.org. "We work hard every day. It's hard to do things by yourself, but as a team you can go so far."

The Americans didn't just win; they dominated. Team USA essentially had the gold wrapped up before it even began its floor routines -- it would have taken numerous disasters to blow its wide lead. Russia finished in a distant second to win silver, while China took the bronze.

Perhaps Team USA's most animated gymnast, Hernandez quickly became a social media sensation, not only for her wink but also for noticeably mouthing "I got this" to herself just before climbing onto the balance beam and for wearing an ear-to-ear grin as she received her medal.

Hernandez's parents made the trip to Rio, but her brother, Marcus, stayed behind in New Jersey. He received a selfie of his sister holding up her gold medal before he even had a chance to watch the tape-delayed event on television. He vowed to take her to, of all places, Wawa to celebrate once she returns home.

Her hometown is beaming with pride.

"Her work ethic is incredible. She just keeps going and going and going and improving every day," said 15-year-old Riley McCusker who trains with Hernandez at Monmouth Gymnastics Academy. "It takes so much hard work and dedication and every day in the gym just to be here and put your best out there."

"She just always had that star in her eye, that look, that personality," Victoria Levine, a coach at the academy, said.

Hernandez has a chance to win another medal before she leaves Rio. She competes in the individual balance beam Monday.

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