Hezly Rivera Coach

Hezly Rivera, nicknamed "Hez," is an American artistic gymnast born on June 4, 2008, in Hackensack, New Jersey. She hails from Oradell, New Jersey, and currently resides in Plano, Texas. Competing at the Senior International Elite level, Rivera has been a member of the USA national team since 2022.

Rivera has achieved notable success in her gymnastics career, including winning silver medals at the 2023 Junior World Championships in Antalya for both the team event and the floor exercise.

Hezly Rivera Coach

Hezly Rivera trains at WOGA Gymnastics and is coached by Valeri and Anna Liukin, the parents and former coaches of 2008 Olympic all-around champion Nastia Liukin. Valeri Viktorovich Liukin is a Kazakh-American retired artistic gymnast and current gymnastics coach. He was born on December 17, 1966, in Aktyubinsk, Kazakh SSR, Soviet Union. Valeri resides in Parker, Texas, U.S., and stands at 5 feet 4 inches (1.63 meters) tall.

During his competitive career, he represented the Soviet Union and Kazakhstan, achieving significant success in Men's Artistic Gymnastics. At the 1988 Seoul Olympic Games, he won gold medals in the team event and horizontal bar, as well as silver medals in the all-around and parallel bars. Additionally, he secured gold medals in the team events at the 1987 World Championships in Rotterdam and the 1991 World Championships in Indianapolis, where he also earned a bronze medal in the all-around. At the 1987 European Championships in Moscow, he won gold in the all-around, floor, parallel bars, and horizontal bar, along with a silver in rings and a bronze in vault. Valeri retired from competition on October 6, 1994.

Anna Kotchneva is married to Valeri Liukin. She is a former Soviet rhythmic gymnast. She was born on January 25, 1970, in Moscow, Russian SFSR, Soviet Union. Kotchneva stands at 5 feet 7 inches (1.70 meters) tall and currently resides in Parker, Texas, U.S. During her competitive career, Anna was coached by Natalia Karpushenko and represented the Soviet Union in rhythmic gymnastics. Her notable achievements include winning a gold medal in clubs at the 1987 World Championships in Varna, along with two bronze medals in rope and hoop at the same competition.

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Hezly Rivera’s Previous Coach

Rivera was previously trained under Maggie Haney, coach of the 2016 Olympian Laurie Hernandez. She relocated to Texas with her family, after Haney was suspended for verbal and emotional abuse of athletes. Now, Rivera trains at WOGA under Valeri Liukin, renowned for coaching his daughter, Nastia Liukin, to the Olympic all-around title in 2008.

Maggie Elaine Haney is a former American gymnastics coach known for coaching Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez and World champion Riley McCusker. Haney began gymnastics at age three and later competed for North Carolina State University's women's gymnastics program. In 2007, she started coaching in New Jersey at MG Elite Gymnastics.

In 2020, Haney was suspended for eight years by USA Gymnastics due to allegations of verbal and emotional abuse. The investigation revealed she pressured injured gymnasts to train, used abusive language, and created a toxic environment. Her suspension was later reduced to five years upon appeal, but she must undergo a probationary period and complete SafeSport courses before reapplying for membership. Despite the suspension, Haney was reported to still be coaching in late 2020.

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