The gymnast might not have competed in the women’s gymnastics team all-around finals at the Bercy Arena. But Hezly Rivera became the youngest member of Team USA at the 2024 Paris Olympics. However, the 16-year-old contested during the qualifying round. Her score of 13.900 on the uneven bars placed her in the 20th position, while a lower score of 12.633 on the beam put her in the 46th position overall. As she left the French capital, she had one Olympic gold.

But now that the Summer Games are done and dusted, the Olympian shifted her focus on what’s next on her list—her future. The gymnast visited several colleges around the country and has finally decided on the one she wants to commit to. On September 26, Rivera took to her Instagram to make the announcement. “I am so blessed & excited to announce that I have verbally committed to Louisiana State University (LSU🙃) on a full athletic scholarship,” she posted along with a few images from the visit. One of them even included LSU’s very own Olivia Dunn. 

Hezly Rivera even shared her LSU visit on Instagram on September 24. She thanked the staff, gymnasts, coaches, and everyone who showed her around and made her feel welcome. The 16-year-old picked the perfect weekend to visit, seeing how the LSU Tigers celebrated their first-ever national championship. In fact, the Olympic gold medalist shared a sneaky update on her Instagram story. She captioned the image of her wearing the LSU leotard, “If you guessed LSU you were right! Last official visit.”

The gymnast continued, “Thank you Jesus for this wonderful blessing!” Rivera even gave her loved ones a well-deserved shoutout: “Thank you to my family, coaches, and teammates for helping me throughout this process.” The gymnast finally ends on a positive note, acknowledging her new team, “I also want to thank all the girls, coaches, and staff at LSU for everything💜 GEAUX TIGERS 💜💛” Her new teammate, Livvy Dunne, commented under the post with an enthusiastic, “LETS FREAKING GEAUX💜💛” We’re excited for this duo! 

Joining the LSU Tigers could work in Hezly Rivera’s favor. How? Dunne has reiterated how one of the biggest differentiators for the Tigers is the built-in advantage women’s sports receive from a NIL perspective. Her NIL valuation is at $4 million, and the gymnast currently ranks 2nd on the NIL list among college athletes. But she has 4 years of experience with this. This is why she believes this will benefit the upcoming women athletes. But this isn’t the only opportunity Hezly Rivera bagged. What could it be?

Hezly Rivera gets to reconnect with Simone Biles and Co. after Paris

The 16-year-old proved her mettle at the U.S. Olympic trials in June, when she placed fourth on uneven bars, tied for the top score on the beam, bagged the eighth place on the floor exercise, and was fifth in the all-around. With this, she punched her ticket to Paris. However, when she got to the French capital, her scores meant she wouldn’t qualify for any individual events. Chellsie Memmel had to let the gymnast know she wouldn’t compete in the team finals either.

But even though this wasn’t an easy pill to swallow, Memmel reassured Hezly Rivera. “You’re just as important a part of this team as everybody else.” However, the gymnast was glad about her maiden Olympic stint. “This was just an amazing experience, you know, and just being with the team and supporting them meant the world to me.” She will now join her teammates on the Gold Over America Tour! While the 2021 edition only featured female gymnasts, the men’s U.S. gymnastics team would join the women on stage this time.

The 16-year-old, along with Asher Hong, Ellie Black, Yul Molduae, and Shane Wiskus, would be the newest addition to the second edition of the tour. The gymnast reposted the announcement on her Instagram stories. It looks like the gymnast was excited to show everyone what she was capable of on the tour, which commenced on September 17.

Hezly Rivera will be alongside some of the top gymnasts on the tour. Joscelyn Roberson, Jordan Chiles, Jade Carey, Frederick Richard, Katelyn Ohashi, and Paul Juda are among some of the names on the stellar lineup. With the tour and her LSU commitment, it sure looks like the 16-year-old will have her hands full for a while.