Many fans are wondering what happened to Hezly Rivera or if she might be hurt or injured at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The youngest member of the women’s gymnastics team for Team USA, the 16-year-old Hezly appeared during the qualification rounds, performing on beam and uneven bars. However, she is not slated to compete in the women’s team final, all-around, or any apparatus finals. This has led to a selection controversy where gymnastics fans are confused about her absence in the team final. Here’s a breakdown of the Hezly Rivera controversy during the 2024 Olympic Games.
Is Hezly Rivera still competing at the 2024 Paris Olympics?
Hezly Rivera will most likely not be competing for the remainder of the 2024 Paris Olympics, according to the Team USA selection for the women’s team final on July 30.
In the qualification rounds, Hezly had a shaky outing on balance beam but hit a solid routine on uneven bars. However, both of her scores where dropped as they were the lowest of the four on each apparatus for the team. This contributed to Team USA announcing on July 29 that Hezly would effectively not be competing on any apparatus at the team final, unless Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, or Jade Carey decides to switch out. She also has not made any apparatus finals or the all-around competition, so it looks like she will not be performing for the remainder of the Olympics.
This has led to a heated controversy by gymnastics fans. Some are surprised that Hezly has been left out of the women’s team final, since Team USA has enough of a margin (about 6 points from the qualification rounds) over the rest of the field that having her compete on bars wouldn’t be too much of a hit. Based on optics, it would be “fairer” to have her contribute during the women’s team final. Sadly, this situation has already led to some comments about Hezly not deserving a team medal because of her absence.
That said, this selection for the team final wasn’t unexpected given Hezly’s scores compared to those from other members on Team USA. If the point is to form a team with the highest potential score, then it would make sense to leave her off.
Also, this situation isn’t the first time something similar has happened with Team USA at the Olympics. Samantha Pezcek was injured during the qualification rounds in the 2008 Olympics and wasn’t able to compete in the team final, but she still received a silver medal for being a part of the team. In the 2004 Olympics, Courtney McCool also performed during the qualifications but didn’t make the team lineup for the finals. She still won a silver medal, though, along with the rest of the team.
