Weeks after winning gold at Paris Olympics, Simone Biles' teammate Hezly Rivera visits Florida University to decide her home for collegiate career

Hezly Rivera was the youngest American gymnast to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics at the age of 16. She won a gold medal alongside Simone Biles in the women's team competition and is now on a school hunt for her collegiate career, visiting the University of Florida on her first visit.

Hezly Rivera was attending an online school in Connection Academy. The 16-year-old made her first campus visit to the University of Florida and claimed that she had a great time.

"first official visit! i had such a great time visiting the university of florida this weekend! thank you to everyone for making me feel super comfortable and showing me around 💙," she wrote.

Rivera is expected to make visits to a few more schools before coming to a decision.

Rivera rose to prominence at the US Gymnastics Olympic Trials in June, finishing an impressive fifth in the all-around competition to qualify for the Olympic Games. It was Rivera’s first year as a senior athlete after winning silver at the 2023 Junior World Championships.

The 16-year-old made her senior debut earlier this year at the Winter Cup. She was placed third in the all-around competition and tied for first on the balance beam. Later, she made her international senior debut at the City of Jesolo Trophy, where she won a bronze medal.

Simone Biles was proud of Hezly Rivera qualifying for the Paris Olympics alongside her

Artistic Gymnastics - Olympic Games Paris 2024: Day 4 - Source: Getty

Hezly Rivera finished third behind Simone Biles and Suni Lee on the balance beam during the Olympic Trials. When the 16-year-old's name was announced in the five-member women's gymnastics team for the Paris Olympics, she couldn't believe it.

“I can’t believe I’m part of this team. I never would have thought this would happen,” she told Olympics.com

While Rivera claimed that she considered the Olympic Trials just like any other meet, Simone Biles knew how big of an achievement the high schooler had earned. The 11x Olympic medalist heaped praise on Rivera following trials, claiming she was proud of Rivera.

“Should we teach her how to drive before she gets to Paris? Like, jeez. She’s so young, she’s so cute, she’s so smart, she’s beautiful. We’re really proud of her for making this team and we’re really excited to show her the ropes and at least she doesn’t have to do it alone, she has four veterans that have been there before,” she said.

Biles would surely have been a helping hand to Hezly Rivera at the Paris Olympics 2024. Although the 16-year-old didn't look at her best, she did enough to call herself an Olympic gold medalist.