NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA - AUGUST 10: Hezly Rivera warms up during the senior women finals at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Smoothie King Center on August 10, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Alicia Malnati/Getty Images)
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Hezly Rivera’s Pan American Championship campaign is over moments after it began. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist withdrew from the remainder of this week’s championship in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, after competing just one routine.
After Rivera competed on the vault in Wednesday’s team final and individual qualification round, USA Gymnastics announced the athlete’s official withdrawal.
Though no immediate reason for the decision was given, Rivera’s vault was significantly downgraded from her planned difficulty, prompting speculation about potential injury or illness. Despite the downgrade, Rivera received a strong 13.400 to contribute to Team USA’s total score.
The defending U.S. national champion’s career has been hampered by injuries in recent months, most notably in the lead-up to the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
After winning her first U.S. title, Rivera and her teammate Claire Pease both withdrew from the World Team Selection Camp due to injury, ending their world championship bids. Both athletes are trained by Valeri and Anna Liukin at the prestigious World Olympic Gymnastics Academy (WOGA), the famed coaches and parents of 2008 Olympic Champion Nastia Liukin.
Considered a favorite to contend for multiple world medals, Rivera’s untimely injury made way for a significantly depleted U.S. squad in Jakarta, resulting in the lowest medal total for U.S. women in more than two decades.
Despite their veteran’s early departure from competition, Team USA’s show must go on in Rio. As Rivera withdrew during the competition on the field of play, Team USA was unable to replace her routines with an alternate athlete.
Nonetheless, the delegation looks for strong contributions from Claire Pease, the 2025 U.S. Classic Champion, and promising first-year senior Charleigh Bullock.
The U.S. women hope to fend off challenges from Canada and host country Brazil, which boasts the return of six-time Olympic medalist Rebeca Andrade.
In addition to fighting for the team title, the American women hope to qualify for the women’s all-around and individual event finals with their scores from Thursday’s competition.
Should American athletes finish within the top 24 qualifiers, the top two athletes will advance to Friday’s all-around final. On the four individual events, the top eight athletes (two per country) will qualify for this weekend’s event finals.
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