During the qualifying round for the 2024 Olympics in Paris, the women’s national gymnastics team got off to a great start. With Simone Biles as their leader and a score of 59.566, the individual winner, Team USA was more than five points ahead of Italy in second place.
On July 30, the day before the Team Finals, USA Gymnastics made the official lineups for each event public. Both Biles and Chiles will fight on all four bars. Suni Lee is ready to do the floor and uneven bars. Jade Carey will only compete on vault because she was sick and had a very bad showing on the floor, which is not like her at all.
Hezly Rivera, a newcomer, wasn’t picked for any apparatus by USA Gymnastics, so her trip to the Olympics is over. She only took part in two events in the qualifying round. Rivera got a 12.633 on the uneven bars and a 13.900 on the balance beam. They both didn’t get high enough scores to make it to the individual rounds.
For the team final, though, the leaders of Team USA can pick any lineup they want. They aren’t required to pick the lineup based on who got the best score in the qualifying round, but that seems to be how they do it.
USA Gymnastics said during the Team Final that the following women will participate on each event, in this order:
Chiles, Carey, and Biles in the vault.
Not even bars: Chiles, Biles, and Lee.
Chiles, Lee, and Biles on the balance beam.
Lee, Chiles, and Biles did the floor routine.
Rivera won’t be in the Team Final, but he will still get a medal if Team USA wins gold, silver, or bronze.
Fans had a wide range of reactions when Hezly Rivera wasn’t chosen to compete in the Team Final.
Rivera, who just turned 16 in June, is the youngest and least experienced member of Team USA. However, fans had mixed feelings about leaving her off the list. The gymnast from New Jersey made the team because she came in fifth place at the U.S. Gymnastics Trials last month. She got 14.300 on bars and 14.275 on beam in the finals, which is a lot better than her Olympic marks.
“I feel bad for Hezly,” one woman wrote on X. I think her age showed, and during the qualification round, her fears got the best of her. But these are the lineups you have to use; at this point, practice is key. So, let’s bring home the [expletive] gold! ❤️🤍💻.
“People whining about this are driving me crazy,” said another fan. You choose the best team based on scores, not on how you feel. “Let’s go!”
“Hezly 🙁 you deserve the world I hope you won’t lose your confidence,” wrote one person. “Put hezly up bars omg,” said another fan. She did a great job, and the other athletes deserve a break too. That’s why there are only five of them on the team—they all have a busy week of races.
Rivera is only going into her junior year of high school, so she is still very young. There is a good chance that she will be a star at the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.
People cheered when Hezly Rivera made her debut at the Olympics
The last time Team USA didn’t let a member compete in the final was at the Beijing Olympics in 2008. Shawn Johnson, Nastia Liukin, Chellsie Memmel, Alicia Sacramone, and Bridget Sloan were the only ones on the six-person team who actually played. Sam Peszek didn’t show up. They got silver.
Also Read
- Tragedy Strikes Team USA: Water Polo Star Maggie Steffens Mourns Sister-in-Law’s Sudden Death
- U.S. Mountain Biker Haley Batten Claims Silver, Faces Unexpected Penalty
- Olympic surfer had to take down a picture of Christ from his board
Rivera hasn’t said anything about not going to the Team Final yet. After the qualifying round was over, she wrote on Instagram, “finally an Olympian! Wow, today was great 💗 A lot of support came from current and past Team USA members in the comments section.
Lee wrote, “big sis is proud of you 🥋🏻,” and Carey replied, “I am so proud of you hez.” Liukin, who won the gold award in the individual all-around event in Beijing, said, “YES HEZ!!!!!!!!!!” So very proud!!!!! “An Olympian FOR LIFE.”
