Bergen County native Hezly Rivera secured her spot on Team USA Sunday night when she was chosen by the U.S. gymnastics selection committee to compete alongside Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey at the upcoming Paris Olympic Games.
Having just turned 16 on June 4, Rivera is the youngest member of the team and the only one making her Olympic debut.
"Do you even drive yet?" Biles asked her on the TODAY Show Monday morning with Rivera responding, "I technically can, but I haven't been."
An Oradell native, Rivera currently lives in the Dallas area where she is coached by Valeri and Anna Liukin, parents and coaches of Nastia Liukin who won the all-around competition in the 2008 games.
She has been competing in gymnastics since the age of 5 when she attended a friend's birthday party at a gymnastics facility, according to Olympics.com . While at the party Rivera stood out so much that her parents were approached by the staff who suggested that she try out for the team.
Over the last couple of years Rivera has competed in multiple national competitions including the 2023 Winter Cup, the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships and the 2024 Winter Cup.
The Paris games will be her fourth competition on the international stage. Her first was at the 2022 DTB Pokal Cup in Germany. She also competed at the Junior World Championships and the 2024 Jesolo Trophy in Italy earlier this year.
Now, following the conclusion of the 2024 Olympic Trials, Rivera is preparing to head to Paris to compete in her first Olympic Games.
"It feels so surreal," she said on the TODAY Show. "I cannot believe that I am here right now. It's just, all my hard work has been paying off. I'm so excited to represent team USA at the Olympics."
Online support for Hezly Rivera going to Paris Olympic Games
Since the Team USA announcement late Sunday evening, the young gymnast has seemingly been met with endless support and excitement.
"She had my heart after day 1. I was rooting for her on day 2 and she was exceptional! Then watching her dad after she was chosen, I was just beyond excited for her. Let's go team USA!" said one commenter on Rivera's Instagram.
"Yes!!! She was amazing!! So proud she is representing USA I think she will surprise everyone at the Olympics," said another Instagram commenter.
Of course you can't forget about Rivera's parents, especially her father, who has also gained some media attention for his heart-warming reactions during the televised coverage of the trials.
"Watching the parents as their daughter is announced always gets me teary eyed," said one user on X, formerly Twitter. "Hezly Rivera's dad was the one who stood out the most. His pride, love, and pure joy for his daughter was so sweet."
"Chills when Hezly Rivera was selected for the Olympic team. Watching her parents all night, especially the pride of her dad that was so evident, was so special," said another, with tons of social media users hoping to see more of Rivera's parents during the Olympic games.
Olympic gymnastics schedule and scoring
The women's gymnastics competition in Paris will begin on Sunday, July 28 with five qualifying rounds, per NBC Olympics' breakdown of the gymnastics competition format .
According to Olympics.com , the schedule is as follows:
- Sunday, July 28: Women's Qualification
- Tuesday, July 30: Women's Team Final
- Thursday, Aug. 1: Women's All-Around Final
- Saturday, Aug. 3: Women's Vault Final
- Sunday, Aug. 4: Women's Uneven Bars Final
- Monday, Aug. 5: Women's Balance Beam Final and Women's Floor Exercise Final
Every gymnast will compete during the qualification rounds which serve as qualifiers for the team final, the all-around final, and the individual event finals, according to NBC.
During the qualification rounds, four athletes will compete in each event only counting the top three scores. An athlete attempting to qualify for the all-around final has to perform in all four events. If they do not compete in all four events, they will only be in contention for the team finals and the individual event finals.
During the team finals, three athletes can compete on a specific apparatus for each team and all three scores will be added up. The team with the highest cumulative team score, which will be made up of 12 total scores, will take home the gold.
According to The Athletic , Rivera's routines on the uneven bars and the balance beam will be "the key elements" to her piece in the "team-building puzzle" as those two apparatuses are slight weak spots for the combined team of Biles, Chiles, Carey, and Lee.
In order to qualify for the all-around final, Rivera will have to compete on all four apparatuses during the qualifying rounds and finish in the top 24.
To advance to the apparatus finals she must be one of the top-eight scorers on any given apparatus in qualifying. In addition, only two gymnasts per nation will be eligible to compete in each apparatus final.
This article originally appeared on NorthJersey.com: Looking ahead to what's next for NJ's Hezly Rivera and U.S. gymnastics
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