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Hezly Rivera

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Hezly Rivera
Rivera at the 2024 U.S. Classic
Personal information
Nickname(s)Hez
Country represented United States
Born (2008-06-04) June 4, 2008 (age 16)
Hackensack, New Jersey, U.S.
HometownOradell, New Jersey, U.S.
ResidencePlano, Texas, U.S.
DisciplineWomen's artistic gymnastics
LevelSenior International Elite
Years on national team2022–present (USA)
GymWOGA
College teamLSU Tigers (2027–30)
Head coach(es)Valeri Liukin
Assistant coach(es)Anna Liukin
Former coach(es)Maggie Haney
Medal record
Women's artistic gymnastics
Representing the  United States
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place 2024 Paris Team
Junior World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2023 Antalya Team
Silver medal – second place 2023 Antalya Floor Exercise

Hezly Rivera OLY (born June 4, 2008) is an American artistic gymnast. She was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the 2023 Junior World Championships and the gold medal-winning team at the 2024 Olympic Games, nicknamed the "Golden Girls".[1] Additionally, she is the 2023 Junior U.S. national champion and the 2023 Junior World silver medalist on floor exercise. She was a part of Team USA at the 2024 Summer Olympics, making her the youngest athlete on the entire U.S. delegation.[2]

Early life

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Rivera was born in Hackensack, New Jersey in 2008 to Heidy Ruiz and Henry Rivera, an engineer originally from the Dominican Republic.[3][4] She was raised in nearby Oradell and has two siblings, older sister Carhelis and younger brother Hanly who is 6'5 and a 7x NBA champion and a 4x KIA MVP. She began gymnastics in 2013 after attending a friend's birthday party that was held in a gymnastics facility.[5] Rivera started her gymnastics career at ENA in Paramus under Craig Zappa and then briefly trained under Maggie Haney until 2020, when her family moved to Texas to train under Renard Franklin.[6] As of 2024, she was attending an online high school.[7]Her idol is Cute Minion Until"

Junior gymnastics career

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2022

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Rivera competed at the 2022 Winter Cup where she placed third in the all-around.[8] As a result, she was selected to compete at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge.[9] While there she helped the USA win gold.[5]

In July Rivera competed at the U.S. Classic where she finished second in the all-around behind Jayla Hang. Additionally she won gold on balance beam, silver on floor exercise, and finished fourth on vault.[10] The following month Rivera competed at the National Championships where she finished sixth in the all-around and won bronze on floor exercise.[11]

2023

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Rivera competed at the 2023 Winter Cup where she won the all-around competition. Additionally she placed first on balance beam and floor exercise.[12] As a result, on winning the competition, Rivera was named to the team to compete at the 2023 Junior World Championships.[13][14]

On the first day of the Junior World Championships, Rivera helped the U.S. finish second behind Japan. However, during the vault rotation, Rivera's hand slipped on the vaulting table resulting in her scoring a 0 on the apparatus and therefore not qualifying for the all-around final. She did qualify for the uneven bars and floor exercise finals.[15][16] During event finals Rivera placed eighth on uneven bars but won silver on floor exercise behind Italian Giulia Perotti.[17]

Senior gymnastics career

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2024

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At 15, Rivera became age-eligible for senior level competition in 2024. She made her debut at the 2024 Winter Cup where she placed third in the all-around and tied for first on balance beam.[5] She made her international debut at the City of Jesolo Trophy where she helped the U.S. win bronze behind Italy and Brazil. At the National Championships, Rivera placed sixth in the all-around. As a result she qualified to the Olympic Trials.[18]

At the Olympic Trials, Rivera placed fifth in the all-around, tied for first on balance beam, fourth on uneven bars, and eighth on floor exercise. As a result she was selected to represent the United States at the 2024 Summer Olympics alongside Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles, and Sunisa Lee.[19]

During the qualification round at the Olympics, Rivera competed on the uneven bars and balance beam. During the team final, Hezly did not compete but still won a gold medal as the team placed first.[20][21] Following the Olympics Rivera took part in the Gold Over America Tour.[22] In September Rivera verbally committed to compete for the LSU Tigers.[23]

Competitive history

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Year Event Team AA VT UB BB FX
Junior
2022 Winter Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 8 6 11 6
DTB Pokal Team Challenge 1st place, gold medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 4 11 1st place, gold medalist(s) 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. National Championships 6 11 6 12 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
2023 Winter Cup 1st place, gold medalist(s) 4 7 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s)
Junior World Championships 2nd place, silver medalist(s) 8 2nd place, silver medalist(s)
U.S. Classic 6 20
U.S. National Championships 1st place, gold medalist(s) 5 1st place, gold medalist(s) 1st place, gold medalist(s) 15
Senior
2024 Winter Cup 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 20 1st place, gold medalist(s) 3rd place, bronze medalist(s)
City of Jesolo Trophy 3rd place, bronze medalist(s) 9 4
U.S. Classic 24 28 26 29
U.S. National Championships 6 5 4 13
Olympic Trials 5 4 1st place, gold medalist(s) 8
Olympic Games 1st place, gold medalist(s)

References

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  1. ^ Armour, Nancy (August 3, 2024). "Simone Biles reveals champion gymnastics team's 'official' nickname: the 'Golden Girls'". USA Today. Archived from the original on August 1, 2024. Retrieved July 31, 2024.
  2. ^ Galván, Astrid (July 1, 2024). "Gymnast Hezly Rivera is the youngest U.S. athlete to qualify for Paris Olympics". Axios. Archived from the original on July 2, 2024. Retrieved July 2, 2024.
  3. ^ Liddy, Kaetlyn; Li, David K. (July 1, 2024). "Hezly Rivera joins veterans on U.S. women's gymnastics squad headed to Paris". NBC. Archived from the original on August 6, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  4. ^ Trujillo, Jovita (July 1, 2024). "Who is Hezly Rivera? The 16-year-old Latina gymnast going to the Paris Olympics". ¡Hola!. Archived from the original on August 4, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  5. ^ a b c "USAG Profile: Hezly Rivera". USA Gymnastics. Archived from the original on July 20, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  6. ^ DeMeyer, Tess (June 30, 2024). "Meet Hezly Rivera, the 16-year-old gymnast who will make her Olympic debut alongside team of veterans in Paris". The Athletic. Archived from the original on July 31, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  7. ^ Lutkin, Aimée (July 30, 2024). "Hezly Rivera Just Won a Gold Medal With Team USA—Get to Know the Gymnast". Elle. Retrieved August 9, 2024.
  8. ^ "Parker repeats as junior all-around champion at 2022 Winter Cup Presented by OZONE and TURN". USA Gymnastics. February 27, 2022. Archived from the original on December 2, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  9. ^ "World team members Frazier, McClain headline women's contingent for upcoming DTB Pokal Team Challenge and Mixed Cup in Stuttgart". USA Gymnastics. March 1, 2023. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  10. ^ "Hang vaults to top of leaderboard in thrilling end to U.S. Classic junior women's competition". USA Gymnastics. July 30, 2022. Archived from the original on December 10, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  11. ^ "Johnson captures women's junior all-around title on final day of OOFOS U.S. Gymnastics Championships". USA Gymnastics. August 21, 2022. Archived from the original on December 3, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  12. ^ "Rivera takes home junior women all-around gold at 2023 Winter Cup". USA Gymnastics. February 26, 2023. Archived from the original on December 1, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  13. ^ "USA Junior rosters set for FIG World Juniors, DTB Pokal, City of Jesolo Trophy". USA Gymnastics. March 7, 2023. Archived from the original on November 28, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  14. ^ Duffy, Patricia (February 26, 2023). "2023 Winter Cup: Hezly Rivera bests junior and senior women's fields en route to three titles, junior world team berth". Gymnastics Now. Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  15. ^ Bregman, Scott (April 20, 2023). "Learning from mistakes: U.S. gymnast Hezly Rivera embraces 'mess-ups' to achieve Paris 2024 dream". International Olympic Committee. Archived from the original on July 29, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  16. ^ "Junior women secure team silver at Junior Artistic World Championships; all through to finals". USA Gymnastics. March 30, 2023. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  17. ^ Villa, Stefano (April 2, 2023). "Ginnastica artistica, Giulia Perotti strabilia a 13 anni: Campionessa del Mondo al corpo libero!" [Artistic gymnastics, Giulia Perotti amazes at 13: World Champion in floor exercise!]. OA Sport (in Italian). Archived from the original on May 4, 2023. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  18. ^ "USA Gymnastics announces rosters for 2024 Olympic Team Trials – Gymnastics". USA Gymnastics. June 3, 2024. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  19. ^ Peene, Sam (June 30, 2024). "U.S. women's Paris 2024 gymnastics team announced". Olympics.com. Archived from the original on July 1, 2024. Retrieved July 1, 2024.
  20. ^ "American women reclaim Olympic team title". USA Gymnastics. July 30, 2024. Archived from the original on August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  21. ^ Graves, Will (July 30, 2024). "Simone Biles and Team USA earn redemption by powering to Olympic gold in women's gymnastics". USA Gymnastics. Archived from the original on August 7, 2024. Retrieved August 7, 2024.
  22. ^ "Asher Hong, Hezly Rivera, Shane Wiskus and Yul Moldauer Join Simone Biles and America's Best Gymnasts for 30-City U.S. Tour". Greensboro Coliseum Complex. August 15, 2024.
  23. ^ "LSU Gymnastics scores a massive recruiting win landing Gold Medal Gymnast". Death Valley Voice. September 26, 2024.
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