Man, talk about a punch to the gut. Two-time U.S. Champion Hezly Rivera has officially withdrawn from the 2026 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships, making this her second consecutive year sidelined from Worlds due to injury. This hit dropped on Saturday, October 17, just a day before the U.S. women were set to hit the floor in Rotterdam. USA Gymnastics confirmed it was a “medically withdrawn” situation, and honestly, you could see the writing on the wall.
Ankle Woes and A Forced Optimism
The concerns really started swirling on Thursday during podium training. Rivera showed up with a heavily taped left ankle. She worked modified skills on uneven bars and balance beam, totally skipped tumbling on floor, and didn’t even touch vault. It was clear something was up. After that training session, she definitely voiced frustration about her injury, but she didn’t hint that a full withdrawal was coming. “I just wanted to modify my training so I can properly heal,” she told reporters. She even tried to keep things positive, adding, “Obviously, this isn’t how I wanted my world championships to go, but I’m still being very grateful and keeping a positive attitude.” That optimism, unfortunately, hit a major roadblock. Her long-awaited world championship debut will have to wait yet again. For now, Dulcy Caylor, who was a 2025 World team member and traveling alternate, is stepping up to take Rivera’s spot on the five-person main team. Expect to see Caylor on the balance beam in Sunday’s qualifying round. Rivera trains with Valeri and Anna Liukin at WOGA, a gym that’s produced Olympic gold medalists like Carly Patterson and Nastia Liukin, so the talent is there, but man, the bad breaks keep coming.
A Painful Pattern for Team USA
This isn’t just a heartbreak for Rivera; it’s a huge blow for Team USA, who now go into Worlds without their national champion for the second year in a row. Last year, in 2025, Rivera also pulled out of the World Team Selection Event because of an ankle injury, crushing her chances at one of the four team spots. That year was supposed to be her breakout. She had an incredible start to the year, snagging her first national title and five out of six gold medals at the U.S. Championships. The 2025 withdrawal was devastating, both for her and for Team USA. She wrote back then, “My focus is on recovery and coming back stronger in 2026,” which makes this year’s news even tougher to swallow. Without her in 2025, the U.S. women sent a weaker team and only brought home two medals, their lowest count since 2001. That’s a huge drop-off.
This week, the Americans are fighting to clinch their record eighth consecutive team title. It’s a massive goal, but doing it without their national champion, Rivera, definitely makes that road a lot steeper. She hasn’t spoken since Saturday’s announcement, but she plans to stay on the floor with Team USA as they compete in Rotterdam. We’ll be watching every step of the way, hoping the rest of the squad can still pull off that historic eighth title!
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by Yahoo Sports.
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