New Jersey-born and raised, Hezley Rivera is the youngest member on the USA Paris Olympics Team. She turned 16 on 4 June 2024. She is the daughter of Dominican immigrants Hanly Rivera and Carhelis Abreu from Moca. She lives and trains in Plano, Texas at the WOGA Gymnastics.
She joins four veteran US Team Olympians – Simone Biles, Jade Carey, Suni Lee and Jordan Chiles.
Rivera explains that she got involved in gymnastics when at the age of 5, she attended a friend’s birthday party that was celebrated in a gymnastics facility in New Jersey. She says a coach at the facility saw her natural talent and approached her parents to convince them they should let her try out for the team.
Her rise in gymnastics has been marked by consistent and impressive achievements on the beam. She won the 2023 Winter Cup junior women’s all-around title and at the 2023 Junior World Championships she won two silver medals.
She was the underdog during the gymnast trials for the US gymnastics team. She made the cut on 30 June 2024.
The Dominican Republic has a gymnast in the Paris Olympics. He is Audrys Nin Reyes.
Read more:
USA Gymnastics
People
Diario Libre
2 July 2024