Will Hezly Rivera ace the Pan American Championships this time? It’s a bit concerning. Why? Remember what happened to the Olympic gold medalist at the 2024 Olympics? The youngest member of the women’s gymnastics team for Team USA was in a familiar place, performing on beam and uneven bars. However, things suddenly changed as she was poised to sit out the team final, barring a last-minute injury. The team could only put 3 of the 5 gymnasts in each event, and Rivera was not chosen. But why?
Well, if you thought she was injured, then no. That wasn’t the case at all. Instead, in the qualification rounds, Hezly had an unstable routine on the balance beam but shot a solid routine on uneven bars. However, both of her scores declined as they were the lowest of the four on each instrument for the team. Well, the reason is not injuries; it’s clear. However, the fans are concerned after watching her recent training video, fearing that this time it might end in an injury.
A video of her training a vault from the podium was shared by Inside Gym on 12th June. The run, flip, and twist in the air were flawless, but the landing got people worried. The post on Instagram was captioned, “Team USA’s Hezly Rivera is preparing for competition at the Pan American Championships! Check out her vault from podium training! Women’s competition starts Friday!”
Meanwhile, a person on Reddit by the username @jensenaackles wrote, “Did anyone see this post from Inside Gym of Hezly’s DTY at podium training? The fact that Valeri thinks vaults like this are competition-ready is always disturbing.” Let’s go back to 2024, shall we? For the unversed, Hezly was left out of competing on any apparatus at the team final.
If Simone Biles, Suni Lee, Jordan Chiles, or Jade Carey arranged to opt out, then she would have a chance. The fans had a heated debate about this online, as reported by Yahoo Entertainment on July 30, 2024. And now fans are abuzz again after seeing her latest training video.
Fans are concerned about Hezly Rivera’s Pan American 2025 stint
After the Reddit user posted about this video, fans came swarming into the comments, dissecting why her landing could be dangerous for her legs. One follower said, “The weird thing is in the air; you wouldn’t think she would land like that. She’s getting some good height there. It’s not like Claire’s, where I can tell from the get-go it’s going to be dangerous.”
Another follower chimed in, “I’ve heard Hezly had a massive growth spurt after the Olympics. She’s probably struggling to twist faster.” One netizen said, “It’s definitely not her strong event right now, which is fine, but I just wish it wasn’t so scary to watch.” After the sudden setback in 2024, she participated in the Winter Cup in February 2025.
However, another lapse knocked on her door as her performance on the balance beam included a fall on a leap, but she recovered well and continued to finish her routine. However, the damage was done. Was it an injury? In her interview with Inside Gymnastics before the Winter Cup, it did not seem like that. So this time, fans are concerned again, seeing her turbulent landing where all the pressure went to her knee.
One netizen said, “She’s not twisting into the ground; I think it’s her Achilles that needs saving, not her knees.” Another fan gave a long explanation, saying, “You see her twist pretty early on the vaulting table, and while she’s not twisting into the mat, I think the ground is coming at her quicker than she seems to expect.” They further mentioned how Hezly isn’t calculating her time coming down to the mat.
They mention how she needs to adjust to her growth spurt. They continued, “She stays locked in almost until the very end. I don’t know if it’s just still adjusting to the recent growth spurt or Valeri’s terrible technique or both, but her ankles are not gonna hold up if she keeps vaulting like this.” One follower agreed, “Yeah, it looked like her legs/ankles just weren’t ready for the ground lol it was honestly weird. The landing was way worse than it looked like in the air, though I agree she’s twisting too early.”
Another follower expressed, “I saw that earlier and winced. All I could think was crunch.” One fan wrote, “The same could be said for her double pike beam dismount…it’s scary and unnerving every time.” After her fall in the 2025 Winter Cup, she continued her routine, but it was not as flawless as before. The final routine and landing were pretty hard on her knee, even though she managed to complete the routine nicely.
She rebounded well, concluding her routine with a double pike dismount with one step and scoring 12.950. “My goals are the 2025 Worlds, and ’26, ’27, and then the Olympics in 2028. Those are my long-term goals,” Hezly Rivera told Olympics.com late last year. “But I have few goals to worry about every day. I just set tiny goals, not just every day, but like every month, and just take it one step at a time and see where it takes me.” So will she ace the Pan American Championships this time without faltering?
The post Fans Worried as Hezly Rivera’s Pan Am Training Routine Sparks Major Concerns appeared first on EssentiallySports.