How Old Is Hezly Rivera? Know About the Youngest USA Athlete Heading to 2024 Paris Olympics

Hezly Rivera is officially the youngest member of Team USA for the 2024 Paris Olympic Games across all sports since Kerri Strug who was fourteen in 1992. The sparkly-eyed gymnast has been dreaming and training for this moment for a major part of her life.

“This has been my dream ever since I was eight,” she told NBC News and it only took her 8 years to accomplish her dream. Her tryst with gymnastics began at the tender age of five. As a little child, Rivera was once invited to a friend’s birthday party. The gathering was held in a gymnasium facility. Observing how skilled the little girl was, the gym staff advised her parents to enroll her in classes. And that is exactly what they did. As they say, it truly takes one moment to change the entire course of your life.

Getting to know Hezly Rivera and her achievements at the Olympic Trials

Rivera, who turned sixteen on June 4, 2024, delivered a clutch performance at the Olympic Trials held in Minnesota. Rivera is now a part of Team USA, along with Simone Biles (27), Suni Lee (21), Jordan Chiles (22) and Jade Carey (24). Sporting red, white, and blue, she has truly earned her spot beside the Tokyo 2020 veterans through her pivotal performance. Rivera, a high school junior, was originally aiming to qualify for the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

But as is evident, good things do not always take time. Her parents, Henry Rivera and Heidi Ruiz, have been extremely supportive of her career all along. Henry was well aware of the role played by one’s mental state during sports and made sure to provide Hezly with the inspiration and drive needed.

He even gifted her Kobe Bryant’s book, ‘The Mamba Mentality: How I Play’. The U.S. junior gymnastics champion grew up in New Jersey but later moved to Texas. Here, Hezly started training with Valeri Liukin. Liukin is the father of Nastia Liukin, who also happens to be a five-time Olympic medalist.

Seizing the opportunity

They say we must seize every opportunity we get with both hands, and the rising star gymnast did just that. It so happened that the other gymnasts, including Skye Blakely, Shilese Jones, and Kayla DiCello, got injured during the Olympic trials.

This was Rivera’s chance to prove herself. And prove herself, she did! Excelling at the beam and uneven bars, she made a solid case at the trials. “My favorite event is bars. It feels like I’m flying. The swing of it just comes very naturally to me,” she shared After two exacting days of trials, she came in fifth with a score of 14.275, behind Olympians Lee, Biles, Chiles, and Carey.

Meanwhile, though some sports enthusiasts questioned her making the team, her fans were quick to defend her and praise her strong performance on bars and beam in all four events. Hezly Rivera might have entered the Olympic Trials as the underdog, but now, with her fantastic performance, she is bound to become one of the favorites. Here’s hoping she outdoes herself at the 2024 Paris Olympics.