"They moved houses and gyms" - Hezly Rivera makes her feelings known on family's sacrifices in helping "dreams come true"

Hezly Rivera became a notable member of “Golden Girls”, the gold medal-winning American artistic gymnastics team in the Paris Olympics 2024. She recently expressed her acknowledgment and appreciation for the efforts made by her family for her gymnastic career.

Rivera etched her name among the rising talents as she became the youngest member to qualify for Team USA for the Paris Olympics. She will be on the team competing at the 2025 Winter Cup. The athlete recently expressed her sincere gratitude to her coaches, teammates, friends, and family, who had to make sacrifices throughout her career and the significant role they played in her journey.

“I am so incredibly grateful for my family because I would not be here without them. I’ve moved so many times. I moved two or three times in New Jersey alone just to find a good gym, and they sacrificed everything for me. They moved houses, moved gyms," recalled Hezly Rivera [via Inside Gymnastics].

"That’s so insanely hard to do, and I really give a lot of the credit to my brother as well because he had to move schools so many times. I know it’s so difficult to make friends and to be the new kid all the time. So, I’m really, really grateful for him, and he’s literally my biggest supporter. I’m truly, truly thankful and grateful for everything that my family has done to make my dreams come true,” she added.

Hezly Rivera won two silver medals at the Junior World Championships in the team and floor exercise events and was the 2023 Junior U.S. national champion. In the 2022 Winter Cup, she clinched third place in the all-around, and at the DTB Pokal Team Challenge, she assisted Team USA (junior) in clinching first place.

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Hezly Rivera reflects on the significance of representing Team USA

Hezly Rivera at The Olympic Games-Paris 2024 - Source: Getty

Hezly Rivera has emerged as one of the top talents in gymnastics and has amassed significant accolades in her budding career. Incidentally, the athlete had set her eyes on the Paris Olympics 2024 when she was young. During her interview with Us Weekly, she expressed her gratitude for being able to represent the USA on the international stage.

“It means the whole world to me just competing for Team USA. Representing this country is such an honor. I've been wanting to do this ever since I was so little. So for it to finally come true is just so amazing. Being at such a high level, I think, is such amazing accomplishments,” she said [0:17 onwards].

The Olympian gymnast expressed her optimism about representing Team USA at her international projects in Germany and Turkey. She further reiterated that it is an “honor” and that she wanted to pursue her prospects from an early age.