Hezly Rivera captured her second consecutive all-around title with a historic comeback at the Xfinity Nbcsports in Phoenix, overcoming a first-day deficit to finish atop the podium. The 18-year-old Oradell, New Jersey, native and LSU commitment posted a two-day total of 111.950 points, outpacing the field after entering Sunday’s final session in fourth place.
Historic Comeback Secures National Title in Phoenix
Rivera’s path to the gold required recovering from a difficult start on the opening night of competition, where a fall on the uneven bars left her trailing co-leaders Claire Pease and Skye Blakely by six-tenths of a point. According to cbsnews.com, she competed while still recovering from a hamstring injury sustained at the Pan Am Games in June. Instead of dwelling on the leaderboard, Rivera kept her focus inward. I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard; I was just focused on myself and my gymnastics and what I had to do,
Rivera said on the Nbcsports broadcast. It was actually, like, stress free. I took all the pressure I could off myself because it’s not fun when you’re stressed or nervous.
That mindset fueled a dominant second-day performance where she tallied a 56.950 score—nearly two points higher than her opening-night total. She passed her training partner and competitor, Claire Pease, during the third of Sunday’s four rotations behind a near-perfect floor routine and also claimed the individual balance beam title with a score of 28.700. Rivera ultimately won the meet by 1.15 points.
Elite Company and Podium Standings
With her victory, Rivera became the second woman to repeat as U.S. all-around champion in the last 13 years, joining Simone Biles, and the first American woman not named Biles to go back-to-back since Jordyn Wieber achieved the feat in 2011 and 2012, Yardbarker reported. Historical records indicate that no woman under the current scoring system over the past 20 years had ever rallied from fourth place entering the final day to capture the national all-around crown.
Dallas-area training partner Claire Pease finished second with a total of 110.800 points, while Charleigh Bullock placed third at 110.550. Reese Esponda took fourth place, and two-time Olympic gold medalist Jade Carey rounded out the top five overall. Meanwhile, co-leader Skye Blakely dropped back after suffering a fall on her opening-rotation floor exercise and falling twice off the balance beam during her final routine, eventually finishing seventh.
Looking Ahead to the World Championships
Following the conclusion of the national championships, Rivera, Esponda, and Drusch were among those named to the 13-member women’s senior national team. The next major milestone on the calendar is a selection competition scheduled from September 29 to October 1 in Crossville, Tennessee. That camp will determine the official five-woman squad that will represent the United States at the World Championships in Rotterdam, The Netherlands.
For Rivera, the event represents the next step in an athletic journey that began when she served as the youngest American Olympian at the 2024 Paris Games, where she competed strictly in the qualifying rounds. Now recognized as a leader of the sport’s next wave as the Los Angeles 2028 Olympics approach, Rivera embraces her new standing within the program. I am comfortable with it,
Rivera said regarding her leadership role. And I just love kind of being a leader in a way.
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