Hezly Rivera repeats as U.S. gymnastics champion; Frederick Richard headlines men’s Worlds team

On Day 1 of the women’s U.S. Gymnastics Championships on Friday, Hezly Rivera launched herself off the bar, reached out to grab it — and fell. The 2024 Olympic gold medalist entered Sunday’s competition in fourth when she tried the skill again, caught it, and rode that momentum to her second consecutive national championship.

No woman had pulled off that large of a comeback for the all-around title since Courtney Kupets in 2003.

“I wasn’t looking at the scores, I wasn’t looking at the scoreboard, I was just focusing on myself and my gymnastics and what I have to do, so it was actually stress-free,” Rivera told NBC after winning the competition by 1.15 points. “I took all the pressure I could off myself, because it’s no fun when you’re stressed or nervous.”

BACK-TO-BACK.
Hezly Rivera becomes the first woman since Simone Biles to win two consecutive U.S. All-Around Gymnastics TITLES! pic.twitter.com/totRBjpboH

— NBC Olympics & Paralympics (@NBCOlympics) August 10, 2026

Rivera, 18, made a name for herself by winning gold as a member of the 2024 U.S. Olympic team as a first-year senior. Two years later, she won her second straight national all-around title, along with gold on beam and silver on floor. The win comes two months after she withdrew from the Pan American Championships with an injury.

Claire Pease led until the second half of Sunday’s competition, when two out-of-bounds landings on floor dropped her to a silver medal in the all-around. First-year senior Charleigh Bullock, 16, finished third, with Reese Esponda fourth and three-time Olympic medalist Jade Carey fifth.

For the men, 2024 Olympian Frederick Richard won his first national championship Saturday night, clinching an automatic spot on the men’s World Championships team. He will be joined by 2020 Olympian and 2024 alternate Shane Wiskus, 2025 pommel horse bronze medalist Patrick Hoopes, 2025 Worlds team member Kameron Nelson and first-year senior Danila Leykin.

“I strived my whole life to get here; it took 20 years, four championships later as a senior, but we’re here,” Richard told NBC Sports. “It shows the hard work is paying off.”

Richard returns to Worlds after being left off the 2025 squad. He posted a dominant all-around performance this week, beating Wiskus in second place by more than 2 points and winning floor. He claimed bronze in the all-around and with the U.S. team at Worlds in 2023.

Frederick Richard competes on the rings in the U.S. Gymnastics Championships at Mortgage Matchup Center in Phoenix on Saturday. (Chris Coduto / Getty Images)

Hoopes joins the team as a pommel horse specialist, the only event he competed in at championships. He beat out fellow specialist Stephen Nedoroscik, who found fame at the 2024 Games by nailing the event in a high-pressure moment and helping the U.S. secure bronze. Nedoroscik fell on pommel horse Saturday night, landing in fifth.

The men’s field was missing core members of recent Olympic and Worlds teams, with Brody Malone, Asher Hong and Donnell Whittenburg not competing. The American squad will look to Nelson to bolster the lineup after he secured silver on rings, clinched the vault title and showcased a high-difficulty floor set. Wiskus and Leykin, second and third in the all-around, round out a team looking to build on Olympic bronze in 2024, the U.S. men’s first team medal since 2008.

The women’s team will be announced after the World Championships selection camp Sept. 29 to Oct. 1. Rivera is looking to make her first Worlds team as a senior, after withdrawing from selection camp last year with an injury.

The team will take into account results throughout the season, which means athletes out of the top five, such as two-time Worlds medalist Skye Blakely, remain in the mix. Blakely tied with Pease for first after Day 1 on Friday, before falls on floor and beam Sunday dropped her to seventh. The team could also include athletes such as two-time Olympic alternate Leanne Wong, who withdrew from U.S. Championships with a knee injury but could still petition to the selection camp.

Next year’s U.S. Championship and Worlds field, at that point one year out from the 2028 Games in Los Angeles, will likely look a lot different. Six-time Olympic medalist Suni Lee announced in July she is launching a comeback for 2028. Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles have not ruled out a return to competition, either.

Joscelyn Roberson, another former Worlds team member and Olympic alternate, also plans to continue her elite career, but she is not competing this season to focus on recovering from injuries. Six-time Worlds medalist Shilese Jones, considered a top contender for the 2024 squad before an injury during Olympic Trials, said Sunday she plans to return to competition next summer.

“I’ve battled through so much, and there’s been so many injuries,” Jones told NBC. “The story still continues. I just want to prove myself.”