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PHOENIX — Hezly Rivera did a drawing of the LA28 Olympics logo that sits in the corner of her bedroom, where she can see it every night.
It’s not quite done yet, though; Rivera still needs to add the Olympic rings to it. Which is fitting. Accomplished as the gymnast already is, with an Olympic gold medal and a national title before her 18th birthday, Rivera has some unfinished business, too.
“Even right after the Olympics, I was like, 'Well, a little break and then I'm going to keep going,'" Rivera said on Wednesday, Aug. 4, ahead of this year’s U.S. gymnastics championships.
"I have a lot of things that I want to achieve at the Olympics," she added. "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 is the favorite for the all-around title at nationals, which begin Thursday night. The women compete Friday and Sunday.
Rivera was considered a longshot to make the U.S. women’s team for the Paris Olympics in 2024. She had turned 16 just three weeks before the Olympic trials, and it was her first season on the senior level.
Plus, the Americans were deep, with Simone Biles and fellow Olympic champions Suni Lee and Jade Carey returning, along with Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles and Shilese Jones, an all-around medalist at the previous two world championships.
More: Jade Carey's homecoming leads sizzling US gymnastics championships
But Jones and Skye Blakely, part of the U.S. teams that won gold at the 2022 and 2023 worlds, both got hurt at Olympic trials. That opened the door for Rivera, and she stormed through it.
She finished fifth in the all-around and tied for first on balance beam at trials, earning the fifth spot on the five-woman team.
Though Rivera only competed in qualifying at the Paris Games, doing two events, the experience was invaluable for the youngest member of the entire U.S. team.
“Now I know what to expect. It definitely taught me a lot of things that I didn't know before, just like in the gymnastics and competition world of the Olympics, because everything was a little bit different,” Rivera said.
She credited Carey with helping make the Olympics manageable. The two would sit in the dining hall and have long conversations about everything, and that made Rivera feel more comfortable in the pressure cooker environment that is the Olympics.
“I kept finding myself putting myself in her shoes and just thinking about what I would want to hear, what I would need,” said Carey, who made her Olympic debut in Tokyo. “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.
“So it was just being there for her, answering any questions she had, and just making her feel like she had a safe space.”
While her Paris teammates stepped away from elite gymnastics after the Olympics — Carey has returned to competition this season and Lee announced her comeback last month — Rivera served notice that she was going to be one to watch in the lead-up to LA28 by winning nationals last year.
She’d have been a favorite to win the all-around title at the world championships, but an ankle injury kept her out of the competition. Rivera returned at Winter Cup in late February, winning the all-around, balance beam and floor exercise.
Newsletter: Get the latest Olympics news in your inbox with Chasing Gold
Rivera was part of the U.S. team that won gold at the Pan American Championships in June, but was limited by a hamstring injury.
“I thought it was best to just pull back a little bit and rest up for the second part of the season, trying to be healthy for this part of the season, Rivera said. “I’m focusing on championships and world selection camp and worlds after this, and I want it to be 100%.”
The ultimate goal, of course, is Los Angeles.
LA28 will be the first Olympics in the United States since Salt Lake in 2002, and the first Summer Games on home soil since Atlanta in 1996, and Rivera says they're going to be "super hyped."
"It's always in the back of my mind," she acknowledged. "But 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. And I have little goals for myself in between."
Unfinished business. This season and beyond.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA28 tops U.S. gymnastics phenom Hezly Rivera's list of unfinished business
Continue reading...
It’s not quite done yet, though; Rivera still needs to add the Olympic rings to it. Which is fitting. Accomplished as the gymnast already is, with an Olympic gold medal and a national title before her 18th birthday, Rivera has some unfinished business, too.
“Even right after the Olympics, I was like, 'Well, a little break and then I'm going to keep going,'" Rivera said on Wednesday, Aug. 4, ahead of this year’s U.S. gymnastics championships.
"I have a lot of things that I want to achieve at the Olympics," she added. "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 is the favorite for the all-around title at nationals, which begin Thursday night. The women compete Friday and Sunday.
Making the most of an opportunity
Rivera was considered a longshot to make the U.S. women’s team for the Paris Olympics in 2024. She had turned 16 just three weeks before the Olympic trials, and it was her first season on the senior level.
Plus, the Americans were deep, with Simone Biles and fellow Olympic champions Suni Lee and Jade Carey returning, along with Tokyo Olympian Jordan Chiles and Shilese Jones, an all-around medalist at the previous two world championships.
More: Jade Carey's homecoming leads sizzling US gymnastics championships
But Jones and Skye Blakely, part of the U.S. teams that won gold at the 2022 and 2023 worlds, both got hurt at Olympic trials. That opened the door for Rivera, and she stormed through it.
She finished fifth in the all-around and tied for first on balance beam at trials, earning the fifth spot on the five-woman team.
Though Rivera only competed in qualifying at the Paris Games, doing two events, the experience was invaluable for the youngest member of the entire U.S. team.
“Now I know what to expect. It definitely taught me a lot of things that I didn't know before, just like in the gymnastics and competition world of the Olympics, because everything was a little bit different,” Rivera said.
She credited Carey with helping make the Olympics manageable. The two would sit in the dining hall and have long conversations about everything, and that made Rivera feel more comfortable in the pressure cooker environment that is the Olympics.
“I kept finding myself putting myself in her shoes and just thinking about what I would want to hear, what I would need,” said Carey, who made her Olympic debut in Tokyo. “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.
“So it was just being there for her, answering any questions she had, and just making her feel like she had a safe space.”
Claiming spotlight for herself
While her Paris teammates stepped away from elite gymnastics after the Olympics — Carey has returned to competition this season and Lee announced her comeback last month — Rivera served notice that she was going to be one to watch in the lead-up to LA28 by winning nationals last year.
She’d have been a favorite to win the all-around title at the world championships, but an ankle injury kept her out of the competition. Rivera returned at Winter Cup in late February, winning the all-around, balance beam and floor exercise.
Newsletter: Get the latest Olympics news in your inbox with Chasing Gold
Rivera was part of the U.S. team that won gold at the Pan American Championships in June, but was limited by a hamstring injury.
“I thought it was best to just pull back a little bit and rest up for the second part of the season, trying to be healthy for this part of the season, Rivera said. “I’m focusing on championships and world selection camp and worlds after this, and I want it to be 100%.”
The ultimate goal, of course, is Los Angeles.
LA28 will be the first Olympics in the United States since Salt Lake in 2002, and the first Summer Games on home soil since Atlanta in 1996, and Rivera says they're going to be "super hyped."
"It's always in the back of my mind," she acknowledged. "But 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. And I have little goals for myself in between."
Unfinished business. This season and beyond.
Follow USA TODAY Sports columnist Nancy Armour on social media @nrarmour.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: LA28 tops U.S. gymnastics phenom Hezly Rivera's list of unfinished business
Continue reading...
