Hezly Rivera Dares You to Underestimate Her
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Growing up, Hezly Rivera watched a lot of Make It or Break It. For the uninitiated, the gymnastics dramedy follows a group of teen girls vying for a spot on the Olympic team. Even back then, she knew this was what she wanted more than anything else in the world. “That was it for me,” Rivera says.
Her own make-it-or-break-it moment happened last month, during the team trials for the Paris Olympics. The two-day competition was a show of true grit, testing the nerves of America’s best gymnasts, many of whom had resumes stacked with medals from the Tokyo and Rio Games. Having never competed at the Olympics before, the self-proclaimed “underdog” suddenly found herself in the running when three top contenders withdrew due to injuries. But the shake-ups didn’t rattle her. “I just went out there and gave it my ‘normal,’ because that is good enough,” she says.
Not only was it good enough—the 16-year-old bested gold medalists Simone Biles and Suni Lee on the beam, tying Joscelyn Roberson for the top score. Her performance helped secure her a spot on the team alongside Biles, Lee, and two other seasoned Olympic veterans, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey.
The magnitude of the unexpected moment—and what it meant not just to her, but to everyone who helped her get there—was not lost on Rivera. “After putting in years of hard work and all of the sacrifices my family and I made, well, I can’t describe the feeling,” she says.
Rivera is the youngest member on the squad and also the youngest American athlete competing in any sport at the Olympics. “Can you even drive yet?” Biles joked in a Today interview after the trials. But don’t think twice about her age. Team USA is counting on Rivera’s steady beam routine to help secure a finish atop the podium. Given her impressive performance at trials, that shouldn’t be a problem. “I’m capable, and can do anything I put my mind to,” she says confidently.
Since Rivera was 5 years old, all the New Jersey native wanted to do was spend time at the gym. As the story goes, her preternatural talent caught the attention of the coaching staff at a friend’s gymnastics-themed birthday party. Her parents enrolled her in a class and she “absolutely fell in love” with the sport. Before long, she was training in Paramus at ENA Gymnastics, alongside future stars like LSU gymnast Livvy Dunne.
In 2022, her family packed up and moved south to Plano, Texas, so she could train at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy, or “WOGA,” with Valeri Liukin, father of 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin and one of the most prestigious gymnastics coaches of all time. “I am forever grateful,” Rivera says of her family’s dedication to her career.
Under Liukin, she won her first junior women’s all-around gold medal at the 2023 U.S. Gymnastics Championships. When she turned 15 and became age-eligible for senior level competition, Rivera placed third in the all-around at the 2024 Winter Cup. Her sixth place individual all-around finish at the National Championships several months later made her eligible to compete at the Olympic trials.
The U.S. women’s gymnastics team is widely regarded as one of the hardest in the world to make. In fact, it’s considered more difficult to make the team than to actually win an Olympic medal. This year was ultra competitive, and a spot on the team for Rivera seemed highly unlikely. But that didn’t faze her. She went out and did what she says she always does: “Stay in my own zone, no matter the competition.”
These trials were unlike any in recent memory. Day one was rocked by a slew of devastating injuries, forcing three top athletes to drop out. Skye Blakely tore her Achilles during podium training. Kayla DiCello was carried off the mat and carted off the floor in a wheelchair. And six-time world medalist Shilese Jones landed awkwardly on a warm-up vault. Rivera continued to focus on what she could control. “Myself, my routine, and what my coaches told me to do,” she says. “I relied on my muscle memory, because it’s very strong.”
Her performance on the beam and uneven bars, her specialties, catapulted her in the rankings and made her a surprise frontrunner. That kind of unexpected pressure can take its toll, but Rivera, ever the professional, was able to “tune out the noise and focus on myself.”
For decades, the Olympic selection process for U.S. gymnastics has been the same. The all-around winner (and sometimes the runner-up, too) at trials goes to the Games, while the rest of the team is chosen by a selection committee. Unsurprisingly, Biles came in first and was therefore guaranteed a spot in Paris. The committee deliberated on the rest of the roster for 15 minutes at most, describing the decision as “pretty cut-and-dry.” Rivera hadn’t doubted herself for a second, and it seems neither did USA Gymnastics.
She looked calm as her name was called and she joined her new teammates onstage. However, her dad Henry had a little less chill. A now-viral video shows him in the stands crying tears of joy. “Her ticket was always outworking everyone,” he later told The New York Post. “Her mentality was almost that ‘mamba mentality.’ If you want something, you go for it. It’s never going to be handed [to you], especially being a Latina.”
Being the youngest member of the team doesn’t make Rivera feel like she deserves her success any less. In fact, it’s kind of like a secret super power. She says that she “doesn’t listen” to people who underestimate her, and that she “always believes” in herself. “I know I am good enough,” she adds. “If you put your mind to something and you work hard, you can achieve greatness.”
In the final weeks before Paris, Rivera and her teammates have gotten together for lunch, organized a pool party, and confabbed about which hair and makeup products they are all bringing to the Games. Just a couple of months ago, these women were just her heroes. Now they are also her peers—and friends. “It means everything to me,” she says.
Through it all, she has managed to stay calm and continue training as usual. “My mentality is the same as it’s always been,” she says. “I go to the gym every day and give it 100 percent. If I go out onto the [Olympic] competition floor and do the same thing I do in the gym, I know I will have done my best.”
Her gymnastics hero
Nastia Liukin is an amazing role model and her gymnastics is so beautiful to watch. Also, everything she does for the gym community and for me is so special.
Favorite gymnastics move
Double layout on floor. I feel like I’m flying.
How she overcomes the “twisties”
Communicate with your coaches, tell them how you’re feeling. It’s important to take time off and take a break from it all to go back to the basics.
First call if she wins a gold medal
My parents.
Dream Olympic team
The team we have now. It’s the perfect representation of America, and each one of the girls is so incredible. I’m truly so honored to be heading to my first Olympics with this team.
Her pre-competition beauty routine
I like to do my hair first. Then I move on to makeup, which I love. I do concealer from Hourglass with a Makeup by Mario brush, Saie bronzer, Saie liquid blush and Rare beauty blush, lip liner from Haus Labs, and then Fenty Beauty setting powder. I set with Charlotte Tilbury setting spray. I also curl my lashes, then do a Saie lip gloss and seal it in with Aquaphor.
Good luck charm
I pray with my family, eat, brush my teeth, and do the same things I do every day. I really like a routine.
Best motivational advice she’s ever received
In a meeting with my coaches, they told me to just do me—I don’t need to do any more or less than my normal. They told me that I’m not competing with others, only myself, and that I should just go out there and do what I need to do, and let the rest fall into place.
If she weren’t a gymnast, she would be…
Swimming or acting.
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