NEW ORLEANS, LOUISIANA – AUGUST 10: Hezly Rivera warms up during the senior women finals at the Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Smoothie King Center on August 10, 2025 in New Orleans, Louisiana. (Photo by Alicia Malnati/Getty Images)
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2024 Olympic team gold medalist Hezly Rivera has announced that her bid to make her first World Championship team has been cut short.
In an Instagram story posted early Friday evening, Rivera announced she had “recently rolled her ankle” in training. After assessing the injury with her doctor and coaches, Rivera shared that she had decided to withdraw from the upcoming World Selection Event in Crossville, Tennessee.
The event, scheduled to begin on Tuesday, September 30, and run through October 2, will determine Team USA’s delegation for the upcoming World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Four women will be selected to Team USA, and Rivera – the current U.S. National Champion – was heavily favored to make the team.
“I’m definitely bummed about the timing,” Rivera said in her post. “But I’m excited to cheer on my teammates and Team USA from home. My focus is on recovery and coming back stronger in 2026.”
A month prior, Rivera looked in her best form to date at the U.S. National Championships in New Orleans, Louisiana. The Olympic team gold medalist seemed to hit her stride after struggling to start the season, and ultimately posted the highest all-around score from a U.S. gymnast this year.
Rivera edged Olympic alternates Leanne Wong and Joscelyn Roberson in the all-around competition, and picked up gold medals on every event but vault.
Both Wong and Roberson are currently slated to compete at the World Selection Event and are favored to make the team. Without Rivera’s abilities in the all-around, underdogs like Jayla Hang and Ashlee Sullivan could also be in firm contention.
Pattern Of Untimely Injuries
With Jakarta approaching, Rivera looked to be a top challenger not just for the U.S. team but for multiple medals at the World Championships.
For the gymnastics community, Rivera’s announcement is eerily similar to one made by former U.S. elite gymnast Konnor McClain, who is currently an LSU gymnast.
Like Rivera, McClain trained under Valeri and Anna Liukin at the World Olympic Gymnastics Academy in Texas during her 2022 elite season. Under the Liukins’ tutelage, she soared to her first U.S. National title in 2022.
TAMPA, FLORIDA – AUGUST 19: American gymnast Konnor McClain competes in the balance beam event during the 2022 US Gymnastics Championships at Amalie Arena on August 19, 2022 in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Mike Ehrmann/Getty Images)
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With the World Championships in Liverpool, England, on the horizon, many regarded McClain as a top contender for gold in the all-around and on balance beam.
However, in early October 2022, McClain announced that a back injury would keep her out of the World Team Selection Event. Since her injury, McClain has found immense success with the LSU Tigers women’s gymnastics team, helping lead them to their first NCAA title in 2024.
In 2017, the U.S. Olympic alternate and reigning U.S. National Champion Ragan Smith also incurred an untimely ankle injury, this time on-site at the World Championships. Smith went on to win two NCAA national titles with the University of Oklahoma’s women’s gymnastics team.
And while Team USA went on to deliver golden results at both the 2017 and 2022 World Championships, they did so without their national champion.
In 2025, the U.S. National team will face the same task.