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≡ USA GYMNASTICS NATIONALS ≡
She came in as the only member of the gold-medal-winning women’s Olympic gymnastics team from Paris competing at USA Gymnastics national championships in New Orleans, Louisiana, but 17-year-old Hezly Rivera proved she is among the elites by winning the two-day women’s All-Around on Sunday.
She won the first All-Around, on Friday, scoring 55.600, winning on Beam (14.350) and second on Floor at 14.000. She had just an 0.200 lead on Arkansas’ Joscelyn Roberson, a member of the 2023 Worlds Team gold-medal winners.
The other individual event leaders included two-time Worlds Team gold winner Leanne Wong on Vault (13.675), Roberson and Alicia Zhou (also 17) on the Uneven Bars (13.650), and Roberson on Floor (14.150).
Going into the final rotation on Sunday, Wong had the session lead at 42.500, but it was tight, with Rivera at 42.200, ahead of Hang (41.100), 22025 Winter Cup winner Ashlee Sullivan and 2024 U.S. Junior silver medalist Simone Rose at 40.800, 2024 U.S. Junior winner Claire Pease (40.600) and then Roberson (40.500).
Roberson scored 13.700 on the Uneven Bars and finished at 54.200. Pan American All-Around champion Jayla Hang (17) was terrific on Vault at 14.300, second-best of the day to Wong (14.500) and ended at 55.400, while Rose scored 13.650 on Vault and closed at 54.450.
That left only Floor, with Pease, Wong and Rivera the final three to perform. Pease earned a 13.350 to finish at 53.950 in her senior-level nationals debut. Wong scored 13.600 and went into the Sunday lead at 56.100. Rivera needed better than 13.900 to win, and completed her journey from Olympic alternate to national champion at 14.200, best score of the day and a winning total of 56.400 for Sunday.
All together:
● 1. 112.000, Rivera
● 2. 111.200, Wong
● 3. 109.600, Roberson
● 4. 107.950, Sullivan
● 5. 107.900, Rose
● 6. 107.650, Hang
● 7. 106.850, Gabrielle Hardie
Although she competed on only two events on Sunday, Florida’s Skye Blakely was sensational, posting the highest scores on the Uneven Bars (14.350) and Beam (14.400), after being eighth and ninth on Friday! Wong was best on Vault (14.500).
In terms of the event leaders across both days:
● Vault: 27.975 average for Wong
● Bars: 27.600 average for Rivera and Blakely
● Beam: 28.350 average for Rivera
● Floor: 28.200 average for Rivera
What should be a powerful U.S. team for the World Artistic Championships in Jakarta (INA) – only individual events, no team competition – will be selected at a special camp from 29 September to 2 October in Crossville, Tennessee.
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