The U.S. team heading to Paris has perhaps the youngest members of its most star-studded squad.
Sixteen-year-old Hesley Rivera impressed the USA Gymnastics selection committee at the 2024 Olympic Trials in Minnesota last weekend, finishing in fifth place as the team's youngest member.
She is more than 10 years younger than teammate Simone Biles, who, at 27, is one of the most decorated American athletes of all time.
USA Gymnastics Olympic Trials. AP
“Yeah, it's pretty surreal,” Rivera said on NBC's “Today” show Monday morning. “I can't believe I'm here now. All the hard work has paid off. I'm so excited to represent Team USA at the Olympics.”
She will make her Olympic debut in Paris, joining Biles, Sunisa Lee, Jordan Chiles and Jade Carey.
The young superstar from Oradell, New Jersey, earned himself an impressive score of 111.15 for fifth place all-around, beating soon-to-be teammate Carey, the 2020 Tokyo Olympic gold medalist in the floor exercise, by just 0.2 points.
Rivera received 14.3 points on the uneven bars and 14.275 points on the balance beam, the highest scores among all the competitors competing for fifth place.
“I'm just so grateful to be here and to have been called up to the Olympic team. This has been my dream since I was 8 years old,” she said.
Biles will make history as the oldest American female gymnast to compete in the Olympics in 72 years.
According to NBC News, after the team names were announced on Sunday, Biles joked about Rivera, saying, “She's so young. She can't even drive! Should we teach her to drive before we get to Paris?”
Rivera will play a big role in helping the United States return to the top of the podium after having to settle for silver in 2020.
“We're all really excited because all four of us want to make amends. [Tokyo Olympians] “I'm coming back with Hesley,” Carey told NBC News.
Biles, a four-time Olympic gold medalist, qualified for her third Olympic Games with a two-day total score of 117.225 points, earning her an automatic berth on the five-person women's team.
Rivera's selection was unexpected, but it gave her a chance to shine after the U.S. lost three top skaters to injuries during the tournament.
Skye Blakely, a member of the last two U.S. teams that have won gold medals at world championships, ruptured her Achilles tendon during practice on Wednesday. Kayla DiCello, 20, also ruptured her Achilles tendon on the first night of qualifying.
Cirice Jones, who withdrew from the U.S. Championships because of a shoulder injury but had applied to compete in the preliminaries, was removed from the competition just 15 minutes before the start because of a knee injury.
At the 2024 Winter Cup senior girls competition in February, Rivera won gold on balance beam and finished third in the individual all-around behind DiCello and Blakely.
Rivera is not the first 16-year-old from Jersey to compete at the Olympic level.
Born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, Laurie Hernandez won a silver medal on balance beam and a gold medal in the team event at the 2016 Rio Olympics as a 16-year-old.
The 24-year-old Hernandez will be watching Rivera's debut as part of NBC's coverage of the Paris tournament.
