Gymnast sensation Hezly Rivera makes her highly anticipated Olympic debut

16-year-old Gymnast sensation Hezly Rivera made her highly anticipated Olympic debut on the 28^th of July, participating in the balance beam and the uneven bars.

According to Essentially Sports, Rivera had a shaky start to her Olympics, scoring 12.633 in her first routine on the balance beam. She later delivered a strong and resilient performance on the uneven bars, scoring 13.900 and helping USA finish top of subdivision 2 qualifying with 172.296 points.

The teenage sensation finished fifth in the all-around and tied first on the beam during the recent USA Olympic trials, earning a place on the five-woman team for the 2024 Olympics.

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Rivera is joined on the team by her idol Simone Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jade Carey, and Jordan Chiles, who all have previous Olympic experience.

Rivera met four-time Olympic gold medalist Simone Biles when she was still in elementary school, and now she gets to compete for the greatest prize in sports.

According to Talksport, Biles said: "We're really excited to kind of show her the ropes. At least she doesn't have to do it alone. She has four veterans that have been there before."

Following on from Biles, Rivera said: "I can't believe I'm part of this team, I would never have thought this would happen." She added: "I'm so grateful to be here and to be called to the Olympic Team."

Rivera started her gymnastics journey at the age of five in 2013 and isn't scheduled to finish high school until 2026. Since starting in 2013, the gymnast has undergone a meteoric rise in the sport.

The Canadian Press reports before the Olympic trials, the former US junior champion had a shaky spell, finishing 24th at the US Classic in mid-May and failing to place better than 25th in any other events.

The shaky spell in May has what's got the USA Gymnastics team believing she is the right choice for Paris 2024 after executing a near-perfect display off the back of a disastrous showing.

U.S. women's national team strategic lead Alicia Sacramone Quinn said: "You need those rough meets to build some character and build that experience, and she came out, and I asked her, 'Are you nervous?' And she's like, 'Nope.'"

After idolizing Biles as an eight-year-old watching the 2016 Olympics in Rio, the USA's greatest-ever gymnast will need Rivera to be at her winning best if the USA is going to bring home more golds from Paris.

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