How 16-year-old Hezly Rivera came to make the 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team
16-year-old high school junior Hezly Rivera made her name known to the world on 30 June as she was named to the Paris 2024 U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team after two grueling days of competition in Minneapolis, Minn.
She will be the only one of the five gymnasts making her Olympic debut in Paris, as she is led by four Games veterans, including respective Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 all-around champions Simone Biles and Suni Lee.
Speaking to media moments after the team was named, Rivera was elated, saying that when she watched the Games in 2016 from her house at eight years old, she never could have imagined that she would be standing on the same stage less than a decade later.
“I can’t believe I’m part of this team,” she said, “I never would have thought this would happen.”
As National Olympic Committees have the exclusive authority for the representation of their respective countries at the Olympic Games, athletes' participation at the Paris Games depends on their NOC selecting them to represent their delegation at Paris 2024
Hezly Rivera competes on the uneven bars during the U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Rivera’s meet of a lifetime at Trials
Coming into the Olympic Trials, Rivera said she felt like the underdog, which was somewhat advantageous as she wasn’t feeling the pressure of the world on her shoulders, unlike some of the other women competing.
“I thought of it as any other meet,” she said.
“I was just thinking, okay, it’s just me and the beam or me and the bar and I’m just saluting my coach,” she said, explaining how during practice, she does ‘pressure sets,’ meaning she and her coaches simulate a competition environment where she has to salute before and after her routines, creating a difference between that and any other standard practice day run-through.
The method was obviously a success, as on day two, in front of a near-capacity Target Center, she came out tied for first place on the balance beam with a score of 14.275 to finish in fifth place overall.
Speaking to media after the announcement, she said she had “just so many emotions. Happy, excited, like happy tears…I’m so grateful to be here and to be called to the Olympic Team. This has been my dream ever since I started when I was five.”
And to make it all even sweeter, she said she finds comfort in the fact that will head to Paris as part of a stacked roster of women who are hungry for gold.
On top of Biles and Lee, Tokyo team silver medallist Jordan Chiles and Olympic floor exercise champion Jade Carey will be by her side.
“They’ve already been through it,” she said.
“They’ve been through the journey, they’ve been through the pressure. I think they’ll be able to mentor me and help me so much, especially not just during the competition, but throughout the whole process.”
“The roster is amazing,” she added.
Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, also spoke to media about Rivera following the announcement and laughed when saying “She can’t even drive!
“Should we teach her how to drive before she gets to Paris? Like, jeez. She’s so young, she’s so cute, she’s so smart, she’s beautiful. We’re really proud of her for making this team and we’re really excited to show her the ropes and at least she doesn’t have to do it alone, she has four veterans that have been there before.”
Rivera’s quick rise to the top
For Rivera, it was just another birthday party at five years old that would change the course of her life forever.
She was celebrating a friend's birthday at her local gymnastics gym when the staff approached her parents to suggest that she try out for the team. As the saying goes, the rest is history.
Today (11 years later), she trains at WOGA gymnastics and is coached by Valeri and Anna Liukin, the parents and former coaches of 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin.
(L-R) Suni Lee, Simone Biles, Hezly Rivera, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey pose after being selected for the 2024 Olympic Team at the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials on June 30, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Nastia took to Instagram with a photo of Rivera and her parents after the announcement to say “never in my life have I been this proud (and emotional) watching from the side. Love you so much, yall freaking did it!!!! See you in Paris!!!!!!”
In February of 2023, she even became teammates with 2012 Olympic all-around champion Gabby Douglas, who attempted to make a comeback for Paris 2024, but now looks ahead to make the team for LA 2028.
The 16-year-old began to see major national success with her first all-around title at the 2023 Winter Cup in Louisville, Kentucky, where she competed as a junior. Six months later, she took another all-around title at the U.S. Championships.
She made her senior debut at the 2024 Winter Cup, where she landed on the podium once again, this time in third place behind world champions Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely.
Paris 2024 will be the fourth time that she has ever represented the stars and stripes on an international stage and the world will see if the U.S. women can take back their dominance after finishing in second at the team competition in Tokyo.