Over the past decade, the United States gymnastics landscape has been dominated by Simone Biles.
But at the 2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix, Hezly Rivera heralded a new wave of gymnasts.
The 18-year-old became the second woman to repeat as the United States champion in the last 13 years after Biles, finishing with 111.95 on the second day of competition on Sunday, Aug. 9. She finished 1.15 points ahead of Claire Pease (110.8). Rivera also won the balance beam title and finished second overall on floor.
Rivera fell during uneven bars on the first day and came into the second day in third place behind Skye Blakely and Pease. But Blakely's lead slipped in the first rotation during her floor exercise after she sat in her first tumbling
pass and stepped out of bounds.
From there, Rivera competed in a two-woman race against Pease that heated up in the last two rotations.
Rivera stuck all but one landing in her floor exercise, while Pease lacked the polish necessary to get ahead in her floor exercise.
In the final rotation, Rivera had a slight lead, but needed a clean vault routine to guarantee a win. Rivera had a small hop on her landing, but stayed within the boundaries to score a 14.4.
Pease was off-center on her vault and landed out of bounds for a deduction that dropped her vault score to 13.85. She finished with a total two-day combined score of 110.8 and won the uneven bar title.
Rivera's all-around title proved she isn't just a name to watch anymore as she enters the next stage of her second Olympic bid with big goals.
"I have a lot of things that I want to achieve at the Olympics," Rivera said. "I want to win another team medal. I want to get a medal in the all-around and a few individual medals. So, yeah."
Rivera has quickly transitioned from an unlikely candidate for the 2024 Paris Olympic team to a burgeoning talent in two years.
As a 16-year-old, Rivera was pressed into the high-pressure environment of the Olympics after injuries removed Blakely and Shilese Jones from the Olympic trials and opened a spot for her.
She competed in qualifying for two events in Paris, but she learned a lot from her experience and through Jade Carey's mentorship.
“I kept finding myself putting myself in her shoes and just thinking about what I would want to hear, what I would need,” Carey said. “It was a lot thrown at her really fast. She was doing a fabulous job, but I just always wanted her to know that she had someone to lean on and someone that could help her through it because it's not super easy. It's really exciting, but it's definitely not easy."
Carey placed fifth (108.75) in her first U.S. Championships since 2024, and won the vault title.
Rivera has the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics in the back of her mind. She even drew the official logo and put the drawing in her room. But she deliberately didn't finish the Olympic rings on it and is focusing on the competitions ahead of the 2028 season.
"I'm not really thinking about it yet because I think it's important to take everything one step at a time and take things piece by piece," Rivera said. "And I have little goals for myself in between."
And now Rivera can check off repeat United States champion on her list.
US men’s World Championships team, national team announced
Frederick Richard won the men's all-around at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Saturday, Aug. 8, securing his place on both the World Championships team and the senior national team.
Joining Richard to compete in the all-around at the World Championships are Shane Wiskus and Danila Leykin. Also making the team are two-time United States pommel horse champion Patrick Hoopes and two-time United States vault champion Kameron Nelson. Five-time United States champion Yul Moldauer will join the team in Rotterdam as a traveling replacement athlete.
All six athletes secured their spots on the 2026-27 senior national team, alongside Crew Bold, Taylor Burkhart, Asher Cohen, Brandon Dang, Asher Hong, Josh Karnes, Cooper Kim, David Shamah and Donnell Whittenburg.
The 2026 World Championships will run from Oct. 17-26 in Rotterdam, Netherlands, and will be the first chance to qualify a team to the 2028 Olympic Games in Los Angeles.
Reach the reporter or send tips for stories at jenna.ortiz@arizonarepublic.com, as well as @jennarortiz on X.
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This article originally appeared on Arizona Republic: Hezly Rivera wins second-straight US Gymnastics title in Phoenix
