Olympian Hezly Rivera Reacts to Winning U.S. Gymnastics Championships

Travis Kelce, Simone Biles, Cristiano Ronaldo & More Athletes’ Incomes Revealed

Hezly Rivera has vaulted herself to the top of another podium.

A year after the 17-year-old and her fellow U.S. women’s gymnasts won the team all-around gold medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics, she won the U.S. Gymnastics Championships’ all-around title and shared how it feels to expand her trophy case.

“It means the world to me to take this national championship title home because I worked so hard for this,” Hezly told NBC Sports Aug. 10. “It was not easy coming back after the Olympics. I took some time off—so much work in the gym, hard work, blood, sweat, tears.”

She added, “I’m just so grateful that I’m here today.”

The teen also gave a peek into her mindset as she competed in the final day of the multi-day event.

“It’s a little bit nerve-racking,” she shared, “but I just tried to trust the process and trust God and just let my body do what it knows how to do.”

And Hezly’s work ethic didn’t just serve her well at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships. In fact, ahead of last year’s Olympic Games she touched on how her determination landed her a spot to compete alongside Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey. 

“I was ecstatic,” Hezly told E! News in July 2024 about learning she made Team USA, “because everything I’ve been working for finally paid off, so to be in that position…I heard my name, and I was shocked.”

“I almost couldn’t believe it,” she continued. “When I heard my name, I was like, ‘Me?!’ It was an amazing experience, but this has just been such a great journey.”

Since the Olympics, Hezly has set her sights on where she hopes her hard work and gymnastics prowess will take her next. 

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“My goals are the 2025 Worlds, and ’26, ’27, and then the Olympics in 2028,” she told Olympics.com in December. “Those are my long-term goals.”

She added, “Obviously, I have little goals to worry about each and every day. I just set tiny goals, not just every day, but like every month, and just take it one step at a time and see where it takes me.”

Read on to see who else took home gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

(E! and NBC Sports are both part of the NBCUniversal family.) 

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Team USA

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Team USA

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Athletics – Women’s 200m

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Amit Elor

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Cole Hocker

Athletics – Men’s 1500m

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Caroline Marks

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Valarie Allman

Athletics – Women’s Discus

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Noah Lyles

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Swimming – Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay

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Bobby Finke

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Kristen Faulkner

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Scottie Scheffler

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