30 American athletes to watch at the 2024 Paris Olympics
By Nick Villano
30. Hezly Rivera
Artistic Gymnastics
Hezly Rivera shocked the world earlier this month when she was the final named member of the Team USA gymnastics main roster. The New Jersey native did make it on the team thanks to a few injuries, namely to Shilese Jones who seemed like a lock to make the roster, but that isn’t to take away from her skillset. Rivera is seriously talented (obviously) and she might have one X-factor that help the USA to gold in possibly its most watched Olympic sport.
Some pundits worried about Team USA's possible performance on the balance beam. That’s not the case for the 16-year-old Rivera, who tied Joscelyn Roberson at the U.S. Olympic trials, besting both Simone Biles and Sunisa Lee. Most would assume that will be her sport when the team is in Paris, giving the U.S. a chance to win just their third gold medal on the beam (the last winner was Shawn Johnson in 2008).
She’s also representing the future of women’s gymnastics. There are always very young athletes on the squad, but this U.S. team is older than usual teams. With most of the team in the early-to-mid 20s, Rivera is someone who could represent Team USA in LA in 2028. Not to get ahead of ourselves, of course, as Paris needs to be the focus.
There are so many stories of disappointment at the Olympics, but this is truly an American Dream. Rivera showed a natural ability for gymnastics at a very young age, and she started homeschooling years ago so she could focus on the sport full-time. She caught the eye of many as early as eight years old, and now, not even old enough to drive in her home state, she will be flying to Paris to compete at the Olympics.