Youngest Team USA Olympian Looks to God After Gold Medal
By Movieguide® Contributor
Hezly Rivera, the youngest member of Team USA, looked to God after the USA Women’s Gymnastics team’s Olympic gold win last week.
“OLYMPIC GOLD MEDALIST 🥹🥹🥇🥇💗couldn’t be more thankful and super proud of this team!! Isaiah 40:31 <3,” Rivera wrote on her Instagram,
The verse reads:
but those who hope in the Lord
will renew their strength.
They will soar on wings like eagles;
they will run and not grow weary,
they will walk and not be faint.
Many of Rivera’s followers offered their congratulations on her post.
“Well if this isn’t one of the coolest posts surrounding these olympic games,” one follower wrote. “You dreamed big and your dream came true (with a tremendous amount of your hard work and support from your coaches and family in between the dream and the realized dream)! Congratulations to you and the rest of the GOLD MEDAL TEAM!”
Her teammate, Jade Carey, commented, “I am so so proud of you my baby hez.”
Per The Christian Post, “Rivera scored 13.900 in the uneven bars and 12.633 in the beam, coming in 26th place. However, her score wasn’t enough for her to qualify in any of the individual events on Tuesday (uneven bars, floor, beam, or vault), marking the first time since 2008 that the U.S. had a women’s gymnastics member not compete in the team final.”
Despite not making it to the finals, at just 16-years-old, Rivera is grateful for the opportunity.
“This was just an amazing experience, you know, and just being with the team and supporting them meant the world to me,” Rivera told NBC after Team USA won gold.
“It was so surreal. I was just everywhere; my mind was everywhere. But I’m so happy to be here and this team has worked so hard, so I’m so proud of each and every one of us,” she added.
Movieguide® previously reported:
Simone Biles came to the 2024 Paris Olympics as the most decorated gymnast in history. With seven Olympic medals and 30 World Championship wins, the elite gymnast is no stranger to winning.
While many doubted Team USA going into Paris, Biles and teammates Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, Jade Carey and Hezly Rivera were ready to prove the doubters wrong.
They did just that.
Per Olympics.com, “The U.S. totalled a 171.296, well clear of silver medallists Italy (165.494). Brazil won the bronze, a historic first, with a finals score of 164.497.”
These Olympics were different for Team USA. Since their silver medal at the Tokyo Olympics in 2021, Carey, Chiles, Lee and Biles have faced injury, illness and mental health struggles.
