Hezly Rivera (born June 4, 2008) is an American
artistic gymnast
Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...
. She was a member of the silver medal-winning team at the
2023 Junior World Championships. Additionally she is the 2023 Junior World silver medalist on floor exercise.
Early life
Rivera was born in
in 2008 to Henry Rivera and Heidy Ruiz, and raised in nearby
Oradell
Oradell is a borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States Census, the borough's population was 8,244,, an increase of 266 from the 2010 census count of 7,978.[2022 Winter Cup
The 2022 Winter Cup was an artistic gymnastics competition held at the Ford Center at The Star in Frisco. Like the previous year it included both men's and women's artistic gymnastics.
Competition schedule
The competition featured senior and j ...]
where she placed third in the all-around. As a result, she was selected to compete at the
DTB Pokal Team Challenge. While there she helped the USA win gold.
In July Rivera competed at the
U.S. Classic
The U.S. Classic is an annual summer gymnastics meet for elite artistic gymnasts of the United States. The meet occurs before Nationals and is a qualifier for it. In Olympic years, the aforementioned meets along with the U.S. Olympic Trials are u ...
where she finished second in the all-around behind Jayla Hang. Additionally she won gold on balance beam, silver on floor exercise, and finished fourth on vault. The following month Rivera competed at the
National Championships
A national championship(s) is the top achievement for any sport or contest within a league of a particular nation or nation state. The title is usually awarded by contests, ranking systems, stature, ability, etc. This determines the best team, indi ...
where she finished sixth in the all-around and won bronze on floor exercise.
2023
Rivera competed at the
2023 Winter Cup where she won the all-around competition. Additionally she placed first on balance beam and floor exercise. As a result, on winning the competition, Rivera was named to the team to compete at the
2023 Junior World Championships.
On the first day of the Junior World Championships Rivera helped the USA finish second behind Japan. However, during the vault rotation Rivera's hand slipped on the vaulting table resulting in her scoring a 0 on the apparatus and therefore not qualifying for the all-around final. She did qualify for the uneven bars and floor exercise finals. During event finals Rivera placed eighth on uneven bars but won silver on floor exercise behind Italian
Giulia Perotti.
Competitive history
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rivera, Hezly
2008 births
Living people
American female artistic gymnasts
Medalists at the Junior World Artistic Gymnastics Championships
Gymnasts from Texas
Sportspeople from Plano, Texas
Sportspeople from Hackensack, New Jersey
People from Oradell, New Jersey
Junior artistic gymnasts