PHOENIX — This might have been the best-case scenario for Hezly Rivera.
The competition at the world championships in October is going to be fierce. The Russians are back with a full team for the first time since the Tokyo Olympics, and these worlds are the first chance countries have to secure their spots at LA28.
That’s new territory for Rivera. Sure, she has an Olympic gold medal. But this will be the first time the U.S. women will be counting on her, rather than Simone Biles or Suni Lee, to lead the charge.
By having to dig herself out of a hole to win her second U.S. title on Sunday, Aug. 9, Rivera showed she has the grit to thrive on the biggest stage.
Trailing by sixth-tenths of a point after the first day of competition, Rivera wound up
winning by 1.15 points. She also won the title on balance beam and was second overall on floor exercise.
“I think it just shows how strong I am mentally. Because physically, everything's there. But the mental aspect of things is definitely where it's at. You can't really do this without having a strong mentality,” Rivera said.
Hezly Rivera is youngest on entire US Olympic team
Rivera, now 18, was a surprise member of the Paris team, taking advantage of the opening created by injuries to two-time world all-around medalist Shilese Jones and Skye Blakely at Olympic trials.
Because Rivera had never even been to a world championships before, and because Biles, Lee, Jade Carey and Jordan Chiles were all returning Olympians, little was asked of the youngest member of Team USA. Rivera wound up competing in only two events in Paris, both during qualifying.
With her Paris teammates all taking last year off, Jones still out and Blakely taking her return slowly, the spotlight naturally shifted to Rivera. She embraced it, winning her first U.S. title in dominant fashion.
That would have made Rivera a favorite for an all-around medal, if not the title, at the 2025 world championships. But she missed that event because of an ankle injury, which means this year’s worlds will be Rivera’s first experience at the center of the pressure cooker. She cannot afford to get rattled or flustered or to fall apart because, as she goes, so will the whole U.S. team.
With a spot at the Los Angeles Olympics on the line.
This performance shows she can handle whatever happens.
“Hezly did a fantastic job tonight rebounding from night one, and just proving to herself and everybody else that that was just a little fluke and she's capable of so much,” Carey said. “And back-to-back national champion is something that she should be really proud of.”
Fall on uneven bars put Hezly Rivera in hole
A fall off uneven bars on the first night of competition dropped Rivera down to fourth, with significant ground to make up on Claire Pease and Blakely. While Blakely had significant errors on both floor exercise and balance beam on Day 2, Pease did not.
If Rivera wanted a second title, she was going to have to earn it.
“I knew it was close because obviously day one and stuff, but I was not paying attention at all. I kind of just started looking down. I looked at my scores and then I just looked down everywhere, just trying to keep my head in the game and focused,” Rivera said.
She started with a decent routine on uneven bars. It wasn’t her best, it wasn’t her worst, and she and coach Valeri Liukin exchanged a look when she finished as if to say, “Ehh. It was fine.”
From then on, though, Rivera was on fire.
Title earned, not just won
She was rock solid on balance beam, with only a small wobble after her sheep jump. She landed her dismount so low she was still folded in half when she hit the mat, but her 14.4 was the highest score of nationals on the event and cut Pease’s margin to a half-point.
Rivera’s floor routine was dazzling. She got great height on her tumbling passes, and stuck her landings as if she was landing in super glue. Her 14.3 was the second-highest score of the day on the event and, after an out-of-bounds and other shaky landings by Pease, was enough to put Rivera in the lead.
She capped her night with a solid vault. Despite a long hold before she was cleared to go, Rivera soared high above the table and landed solidly, taking only a slight hop. The title, and the added confidence it will bring, were hers.
“It's a great thing for her,” said Anna Liukin, Rivera’s other coach. “She is a lot more mature and a lot more confident right now.”
Good thing. Because the Americans will be counting on her.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Comeback shows gymnast Hezly Rivera has grit to thrive on world stage | Opinion
