Hezly Rivera, 16, bound for Olympics as youngest member of US gymnastics team

Team USA has its youngest member on perhaps its most star-studded team headed to Paris.

Hezly Rivera, 16, impressed the U.S. gymnastics selection committee at the 2024 Olympic Trials this past weekend in Minnesota, earning her place as fifth and the youngest member of the team.

She’s over a decade young than teammate Simone Biles, who at 27 is one of the most decorated American athletes of all time.

“Yeah, it feels so surreal,” Rivera told NBC’s “TODAY” show on Monday morning. “I cannot believe that I’m 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.”

She will be make her Olympic debut alongside Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey at the Paris Games.

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The young superstar from Oradell, N.J. finished fifth all-around with an impressive score of 111.15, only two two-tenths of a point behind her soon-to-be teammate Carey – 2020 Tokyo Olympics’ gold medalist on the floor.

Rivera scored a 14.3 on the uneven bars and a 14.275 on the balance beam — the highest scores among all the potential contenders vying for the fifth spot.

“I’m so grateful to be here and to be called to the Olympic team, this has been my dream ever since I was 8,” she said.

Biles will be making history as the oldest American female gymnast to compete at the Olympics for the first time in 72 years.

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“She’s so young. She can’t even drive! Should we teach her how to drive before we get to Paris?” Biles joked about Rivera after the team was named on Sunday, according to NBC News.

Rivera will play a big role in helping the U.S. try to find its way back atop the podium after settling for silver in 2020.

“We all have some redemption that we want so it’s really exciting for the four of us [Tokyo Olympians] to be back, with Hezley too,” Carey said, per NBC News

Biles, the four-time Olympic gold medalist, earned a third trip to the Olympic stage with a two-day all-around score of 117.225, clinching the automatic spot on the five-woman team.

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While Rivera was an unexpected choice, the U.S. lost three top competitors at different points throughout the competition due to injuries, which gave her a chance to shine.

Skye Blakely, a member of the previous two U.S. teams that won the gold at the world championships, ruptured her Achilles during an official practice on Wednesday. Kayla DiCello, 20, also suffered a ruptured Achilles on opening night of the trials.

Shilese Jones, who withdrew from the U.S. Championships due to a shoulder injury but petitioned to compete at the trials, was pulled out of the competition just 15 minutes before it began due to a knee injury.

In the senior women’s division at the 2024 Winter Cup in February, Rivera secured the gold on the beam and finished third all-around — right behind DiCello and Blakely.

Rivera won’t be the first 16-year-old from Jersey to compete at the Olympic level.

At age 16, Laurie Hernandez, who was born in New Brunswick, N.J., clinched a silver medal for the beam and a team gold medal at the 2016 Rio Games.

Hernandez, 24, will be on hand to see Rivera’s debut, as part of NBC’s coverage of the Paris games.

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