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Most sixteen-year-olds are gearing up for their junior year of high school, getting their driver's license, or thinking about their summer plans with friends, but Hezly Rivera is getting ready for the Olympics. The Latina gymnast with Dominican American heritage has moved on past the team trials and is officially the fifth and youngest member to represent Team USA at the 2024 Olympic Games.
© GettyHezly, who just turned 16 in June, placed fifth in the all-around at the 2024 US Olympic Trials, first on the balance beam, fourth on uneven bars, and eighth on the floor.
While Hezly already has an impressive resume, it was her first U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Minneapolis, Minnesota. The junior in high school joins Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey on the team. Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson were named traveling replacement athletes.
© GettyWho is Rivera?
Henry Rivera and Heidy Ruiz welcomed Hezly into the world on June 4, 2008. According to the Olympics website, she got into gymnastics after attending a friend's birthday party when she was only five years old. She had such a natural gift her parents were approached by staff who suggested she try out for the team, and it was nothing short but destiny. Hezly also has two siblings, Hanly and Carhelis, and has had her family's unwavering support. Her dad was recently spotted cheering her on from the stands in an adorable video. After the Olympic trials, she told reporters he was her "rock."
Hezly is a New Jersey native, but she moved to North Texas to train at the world-renowned gym, WOGA Gymnastics, in Dallas. She has a powerful team behind her and is coached by Valeri and Anna Liuk, the parents and coaches of Beijing 2008 all-around champion Nastia Liukin.
The bars and balance beam prodigy had major success over the last year and a half, previously winning the all-around title in the junior division at the 2023 U.S. Championships and the all-around title for the 2023 Winter Cup. She became age-eligible for senior-level competition in 2024, making her debut at the 2024 Winter Cup, where she placed third in the all-around behind Kayla DiCello and Skye Blakely. She qualified for the Olympics trials at the National Championships, placing sixth in the all-around.
Things are happening much faster for Hazly than expected, she originally had goals for the 2028 Olympics, and considered the trials as a "stepping stone." “I think this was a stepping stone for me to just get out here and do my job. So yeah, 2028 was the goal. I was just trying to stay very focused because it's all a part of the journey either way if I [made] it or not," she told reporters, per PEOPLE.
© GettyShe is also teammates with Gabby Douglas, who unfortunately had to withdraw from competition at the U.S. gymnastics championships after an ankle injury she suffered training, ending her bid for Paris. While Douglas will not compete, she has a great influence on the 16-year-old. Hezly told the Olympics in 2023 that she knew she could make it big with the team behind her. "It’s amazing because I know I can definitely make it with all these people around me. I never would have thought I would be training with Nastia’s parents and especially with Gabby! It’s crazy because she gives me so many tips and such encouragement," she continued.
The teenager has 66k followers, and growing, on Instagram. The profile is a glimpse into just how hard she has been training, with occasional snaps with friends, or her little brother. Only the future knows what's in store for the young girl, but she has already accomplished what most athletes, will only dream of.
