There will be nearly 600 Americans rocking the red, white and blue of their beloved nation over the next couple of weeks in Paris, France.
The most famous of all may be a gymnast, too, as Simone Biles will look to add to her jaw-dropping number of Olympic medals this summer.
But it’s worth taking a moment to shift one’s eyes over a bit.
Yes, Simone Biles is the most decorated and awe-inspiring gymnast of all-time. But her teammate just made a bit of her own history.
Hezly Rivera prepares for her uneven bars routine on Day Four of the 2024 U.S. Olympic Team Gymnastics Trials at Target Center on June 30, 2024 in Minneapolis, Minnesota. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
At 16 years old, Hezly Rivera is the youngest U.S. Olympian at the 2024 Summer Games.
The New Jersey-born athlete secured her spot on the highly competitive women’s team courtesy of a gold medal-winning balance beam performance at the U.S. Olympic Team Trials in Minnesota last month.
Along with Biles, Rivera is part of a squad at this year’s Olympics that includes 2020 Tokyo veterans Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, and Jade Carey.
Pretty darn impressive company for Hezly Rivera.
Jade Carey, Simone Biles, Jordan Chiles, Hezly Rivera and Sunisa Lee try on clothes at the Team USA Welcome Experience Ahead of Paris 2024 on July 22, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC)
“It feels incredible — this doesn’t have to happen too often, so I’m very excited to be the youngest team member of the group,” Rivera told Good Morning America after qualifying for the team.
“I felt so happy and super excited because this is what I’ve been working for my whole life. So for it to finally come true is so exciting and so surreal.”
Rivera started her career at five years old, doing cartwheels around the house… just like so many toddlers around the globe.
She eventually moved to North Texas to work with legendary coach Valeri Liukin (father to 2008 Olympic gold medalist Nastia Liukin) at WOGA Gymnastics.
Hezly Rivera tries on clothes at the Team USA Welcome Experience Ahead of Paris 2024 on July 22, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Joe Scarnici/Getty Images for USOPC)
“My strengths that I bring to Team USA are my bars and my beam because I think my form sets me apart,” she previously told People Magazine, adding:
“I think I’m a very clean gymnast. I have some difficulty — obviously not the highest difficulty — but I’m working my way up there and I think that my execution really sets me apart.
Rivera has said she is training for the “vault, bars, beam and floor,” although she won’t know which events she’ll be competing in at the Olympics until almost the last second.
It’s clear this teenager will be ready for anything, however.
Hezly Rivera of the USA practices on the floor exercise during a training session at the Paris-Le Bourget Exhibition Center on July 24, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Elsa/Getty Images)
“I need to trust myself and trust my training, because my muscle memory is there and it’s very strong,” she also told GMA.
“I just have to do what I do in the gym.
“And I know everything will be perfect.”
Hezly Rivera: Meet the Youngest U.S. Olympian of 2024! was originally published on The Hollywood Gossip.