Hezly Rivera shares glimpses as she receives huge honor at Plano Holiday Parade for Paris Olympics success

Hezly Rivera was recently honored as the Holiday Spirit Ambassador at the Plano Holiday Parade, a recognition celebrating her outstanding achievements and festive spirit of the season. Born on June 4, 2008, in New Jersey, Rivera and her parents moved to Plano, Texas in 2020.

She began training under five-time Olympic medalist Nastia Liukin’s dad, Valeri Liukin, who bagged four medals at the 1988 Seoul Olympics. The festive parade was held on Saturday, December 14th, 2024, in Downtown Plano, Texas.

The parade began in Downtown Plano on 19th Street at M Avenue before heading west on 19th Street. It then turned south on K Avenue, east on 15th Street, and north on M Avenue before concluding at 18th Street. The lively parade featured dozens of colorful floats, marching bands, local clubs, exquisite cars, and more.

The youngest member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic women's gymnastics team took to social media to share a few glimpses of the parade, where she donned a U.S. Olympic team jacket, flaunting her gold medal.

"Had such a fun time yesterday with @planoholidayparades 🤍 #plano #holiday #christmas #planoholidayparade," she wrote.

The Paris Olympics gymnast was honored at a homecoming parade in Oradell in her hometown of New Jersey in October 2024.

"Those are my long-term goals" - Hezly Rivera fixes her sights on 2025, 2026, 2027 World Gymnastics Championships and 2028 LA Olympics

Hezly Rivera competes during the 2024 Olympics in Paris, France. (Via Getty Images)

Hezly Rivera recently revealed her plans for her upcoming gymnastics prospects. In an interview with Olympics.com, she shared her goals, stating she has set her sights on competing in the 2025, 2026, and 2027 World Gymnastics Championships and 2028 LA Olympics.

Further, she also informed me about her short-term and immediate goals set for each week and month and stated that she is taking things step by step to see how they progress.

“My goals are the 2025 Worlds, and ’26, ’27, and then the Olympics in 2028," Rivera said. "Those are my long-term goals. But, obviously, I have little goals to worry about each and 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.”

After settling in fifth place in the all-around event at the U.S. Olympic Trials, Hezly Rivera secured a gold medal in the team event at the French capital.