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.
“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.)
Team USA
Women’s Basketball
Jennifer Valente
Cycling Track – Women’s Omnium
Masai Russell
Athletics – Women’s 100m Hurdles
Team USA
Men’s Basketball
Chris Bailey, Vernon Norwood, Rai Benjamin & Bryce Deadmon
Athletics – Men’s 4 x 400m Relay
Team USA
Women’s Football
Gabby Thomas, Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone, Alexis Holmes & Shamier Little
Athletics – Women’s 4 x 400m Relay
Rai Benjamin
Athletics – Men’s 400m Hurdles
Olivia Reeves
Weightlifting – Women’s 71kg
Melissa Jefferson, Twanisha Terry, Gabby Thomas & Sha’Carri Richardson
Athletics – Women’s 4 x 100m Relay
Grant Holloway
Athletics – Men’s 110m Hurdles
Tara Davis-Woodhall
Athletics – Women’s Long Jump
Sydney McLaughlin-Levrone
Athletics – Women’s 400m Hurdles
Sarah Hildebrandt
Wrestling – Women’s Freestyle 50kg
Jennifer Valente, Lily Williams, Chloe Dygert & Kristen Faulkner
Cycling Track – Women’s Team Pursuit
Quincy Hall
Athletics – Men’s 400m
Gabby Thomas
Athletics – Women’s 200m
Amit Elor
Wrestling – Women’s Freestyle 68kg
Cole Hocker
Athletics – Men’s 1500m
Caroline Marks
Women’s Surfing
Valarie Allman
Athletics – Women’s Discus
Noah Lyles
Athletics – Men’s 100m
Regan Smith, Lilly King, Gretchen Walsh & Torri Huske
Swimming – Women’s 4x100m Medley Relay
Bobby Finke
Swimming – Men’s 1500m Freestyle
Kristen Faulkner
Cycling – Women’s Road Race
Scottie Scheffler
Golf – Men’s Individual Stroke Play
Vincent Hancock
Shooting – Men’s Skeet
Ryan Crouser
Athletics – Men’s Shot Put
Katie Ledecky
Swimming – Women’s 800m Freestyle
Ryan Murphy, Torri Huske Gretchen Walsh & Nic Fink
Swimming – Mixed 4x100m Medley Relay
