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Plano’s Hezly Rivera Wins U.S. Gymnastics National Title

Plano native Asher Hong also won the men’s senior all-around gold
Matilda Preisendorf
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Photo: USA Gymnastics

Plano gymnast Hezly Rivera is adding more gold to her growing collection. The 2024 Olympic champion shined once again, taking home the senior all-around crown — plus three apparatus titles — at the 2025 Xfinity U.S. Gymnastics Championships in New Orleans.

Rivera’s performance capped a year of remarkable consistency following her team gold at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. 

A Dominant Performance

According to ​​USA Gymnastics, Rivera, who trains at WOGA Gymnastics in Plano, led the senior all-around field across both days of competition, posting a combined 112.000. She claimed gold on balance beam (28.350), floor exercise (28.200) and shared the uneven bars title (27.600) with Frisco’s Skye Blakely, now a University of Florida gymnast.

At just 17, she is now the youngest U.S. all-around champion since Ragan Smith in 2017, marking a milestone in an already impressive career. She is also the first woman since Jordyn Wieber to capture both junior and senior all-around titles, a feat last achieved in 2008 and 2011-12. 

Lone Star Talent On Display

Rivera wasn’t the only Texas gymnast making headlines. Former Plano resident Asher Hong, now training elsewhere, also clinched gold in the men’s senior all-around — his second national title — by a record margin.​

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Photo: USA Gymnastics

​Both Rivera and Hong were part of last summer’s Olympic roster, with Rivera winning team gold and Hong taking home bronze.

Adding to Rivera’s accolades, she joins an elite group of only six American women since 2000 — alongside Wieber, Simone Biles, Nastia Liukin, Shawn Johnson and Carly Patterson — to hold both an Olympic gold medal and a national all-around crown.

The Road Ahead

The women’s team for the 2025 Senior World Championships, scheduled for October 19–25 in Jakarta, Indonesia, will be finalized after the selection camp in Crossville, Tennessee, from Sept. 29–Oct. 2. Given her current form, Rivera is expected to be a top contender for a spot.

For Plano, having two Olympic athletes — both still racking up wins — has become a point of community pride. Rivera’s continued dominance keeps the city’s gymnastics legacy firmly in the national spotlight.

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