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In his V-log for People, Val Chmerkovskiy gushed about his first official week with partner Laurie Hernandez, saying: Week 1, I thought, was awesome. I was very proud of Laurie I think she did a great job," he says of the gold-medal gymnast, who is tied for first place based on the judges' scores from the premiere episode. "Before even doing a great job, I'm proud of her for realizing a life-long dream of hers. I know it's been a fairly short life ... but in 16 years of her life a majority of that was spent watching "Dancing with the Stars." So finally to be on that show that show that she's watched with her family for so many years, that's incredible for her. (Instagram)