Olivia Dunne is excited to watch Hezly Rivera at the Paris Olympics 2024. Dunne, who is an NCAA phenom, has recently won the Championship for LSU. Amidst speculations of Dunne leaving college gymnastics, the LSU sweetheart has confirmed her appearance for another season. And as the Olympics draws closer, the fever seems to have caught up with Olivia Dunne too. In a recently uploaded video on Instagram, Olivia Dunne was asked about which athlete she was eager to watch in Paris.
Without the slightest hint of doubt, a smiling Dunne named Hezly Rivera. She then went on to justify her pick, saying, “Hezly Rivera. She is from New Jersey. She trained up at my gym growing up. So, we used to train together. Every single day, all day. And she is just such a hard worker. And to see how far she has come, it could make me tear up.” Well, Olivia Dunne’s excitement is justified. As a matter of fact, nobody gave Hezly Rivera much attention when she came into the US trials in Minnesota.
However, once proceedings went underway, Rivera awed everyone with her exquisite skills. At one point, Rivera even had Simone Biles and Suni Lee feel the brunt of her antics. Finishing with an all-around score of 111.15, Hezly Rivera created history in the US Olympic Trials. She clinched the coveted fifth spot to become the youngest US gymnast to qualify for the Paris Olympics. Unfortunately, while Rivera will be brushing shoulders with the likes of Jordan Chiles, Suni Lee, and Simone Biles, her qualification was
MyKayla Skinner criticizes Hezly Rivera, Jordan Chiles
In a now-deleted YouTube video, former US gymnast, MyKayla Skinner lashed out at the current roster of gymnasts. She stated that most of the athletes lacked depth in their skills. Skinner also took a shot at Hezly Rivera, mispronouncing her name. Shockingly, Skinner stated that in order to bring the best out of athletes, the coaches need to follow aggressive tactics, which Is currently hindered by the SafeSport norms. Such shocking statements rattled the gymnastics fraternity. Replying to Skinner, Hezly Rivera’s sister posted an Instagram picture of Rivera along with Skinner. She captioned the post, “Kind of funny that you didn’t know how to pronounce my sister’s name, especially sin
ce she was on national TV…I’m sure you heard the commentators say her name correctly every time… Also, you personally handed Hezly a medal at the Hopes US Classic 2018 in Utah.” Skinner was also called out by Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles’ mother, Gina Chiles. Thus, making her way into Paris, Hezly Rivera will definitely look to shut her critics. And if she can secure an Olympic medal, her haters would surely need to go over and beyond to find faults in her skill sets.
