By WILL GRAVES AP National Writer
PHOENIX (AP) — Hezly Rivera listened more than she talked two summers ago in Paris when she was the “wait, who?” member of the star-laden U.S. women’s Olympic gymnastics team.
Those days are over. Long over.
The wide-eyed newcomer is gone, replaced by a poised and professional 18-year-old who is embracing her role as the leader of the sport’s next wave as the 2028 Olympics approach.
The proof was on display during the final round of the U.S. gymnastics championships on Sunday, when Rivera — still not quite 100% while recovering from a hamstring injury sustained at the Pan Am Games in June — won her second straight national title with a poised and polished performance that solidified her status as the current face of a women’s program two years out from the 2028 Games in Los Angeles.
Rivera’s two-day total of 111.950 was more than a point clear of runner-up Claire Pease, making Rivera the first American woman not named Simone Biles to go back-to-back since former world and Olympic champion Jordyn Wieber did it in 2011 and 2012.
Heady company to be sure, but company in which Rivera increasingly feels like she belongs. It might not have seemed like it in the summer of 2024 when she ceded the spotlight to her more accomplished teammates, but the relentlessly upbeat Texan has no problem admitting these days she wants to lead from the front.
“I am comfortable with it,” she said. “And I just love kind of being a leader in a way.”
Anna Liukin, who coaches Rivera alongside her husband Valeri, called Rivera “motherly.” Rivera laughed when the description was passed along because well, it’s strange to hear as a teenager. Yet in many ways, it’s applicable.
Lee and Jade Carey helped Rivera navigate her way through the sport’s biggest stage and come out with a gold medal on the other side. She feels it’s her duty to do the same to the generation of gymnasts just starting to find their way as the lure of a potentially life-changing hometown Games in Los Angeles looms.
“I think it’s just really important to give pep talks because when you’re young, you’re still learning a lot,” she said. “So I just think it’s good to get positive vibes.”
Even if producing them takes a little practice. Rivera relied on that practice Thursday when a fall on uneven bars — perhaps her strongest event — sent her tumbling down the leaderboard. She shook the miscue off and found herself in fourth heading into Sunday.
A comeback still seemed somewhat unlikely when Rivera began Sunday with a gritty bars set that included her fighting through a mini-stall just before her dismount and ended with her and giving Valeri Liukin a “what are you gonna do?” shrug after a dismount that included a small step.
Yet twenty minutes later, it was long forgotten during a graceful balance beam routine that brought her to within striking distance of the lead.
“It took a few years to learn that, but I’m at a point now where it’s just like there already,” she said. “I don’t really have to think about it too much.”
Her black-and-white bedazzled leotard glittering under the lights, Rivera put on a performance that made her look every bit the star she has become.
Rivera never glanced at the scoreboard to mark her progress, too intent on trying to stay warm and focused during sometimes lengthy delays. If she was bothered, it didn’t show. Every time she saluted the judges, Rivera was all business.
Now she heads into the fall hoping to make her first world championship team. Rivera was practically a lock last year before rolling her ankle during selection camp, something Liukin called “heartbreaking.”
Provided she can stay healthy, Rivera is eager to make up for lost time in the first major international team meet since Paris. Yes, her hamstring still isn’t quite there, but she found her way to the top of the podium anyway.
“I think it just shows how strong I am mentally,” she said. “Because physically everything’s there. But the mental aspect of things is definitely where it’s at. You can’t really do this without having a strong mentality.”
Pease and fellow first-day co-leader Skye Blakely couldn’t quite keep up. Pease led with two rotations to go, but her floor routine included one tumbling pass that ended with her stepping out of bounds and another in which she opted to keep her right foot hovering above the floor rather than set it down for a penalty.
Still, Pease’s second-place finish was a marked improvement from a year ago, when she came to nationals fresh off a victory at U.S. Classic and stumbled to 10th. This time around, she finds herself in a solid position to join good friend and teammate Rivera in the Netherlands.
Blakely’s bid to build off a promising opening night stalled quickly. She sat at the end of her first tumbling pass and bounced out of bounds on her final one, her score of 11.900 dropping her from contention for the top of the podium on her way to a seventh-place finish. The 21-year-old called it “irritating” but stressed she’s pleased with her progress in her first elite meet competing the all-around since 2024.
Charleigh Bullock, who turned 16 last month, was third. Reese Esponda, who trains at the Houston-area gym owned by Biles’ family, was fourth.
Carey, who is methodically building difficulty into her routines as she eyes a third trip to the Games, won the vault title and finished fifth in the all-around in a meet that doubled as a homecoming for the Phoenix native. The two-time Olympic gold medalist also marveled at Rivera’s growth both on and off the floor since that memorable trip to Paris.
“I think Hezly did a fantastic job tonight and kind of rebounding from night one and just proving to herself and everybody else that that was just a little fluke and she’s capable of so much,” Carey said. “Back-to-back national champion is something that she should be really proud of.”
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