Hezly Rivera claws back for second-straight all-around crown in Phoenix; Back-to-back all-around title

2026 U.S. Gymnastics Championships: Hezly Rivera claws back for second-straight all-around crown

The Paris 2024 team gold medallist started the second day of competition in fourth place, using a near-flawless day to climb back to the top spot.

Hezly Rivera got it done.

The Paris 2024 Olympic team gold medallist clawed her way back to the top step of the podium Sunday afternoon (9 August) at the U.S. Gymnastics Championships in Phoenix.

The 18-year-old, who entered as the defending champion, found herself in a surprise fourth place after the first of two nights of competition. A fall on the uneven bars and a missed required element had cost her.

But in Sunday’s final, Rivera was nearly flawless, totalling 56.950 for a two-day score of 111.950 . That was ahead of Claire Pease , Rivera’s training partner at WOGA Gymnastics in Plano, Texas, who scored 110.800 . Charleigh Bullock was third at 110.550 .

Two-time Olympic gold medallist Jade Carey and two-time world team gold medallist Skye Blakely finished fifth and seventh overall, respectively.

Starting on uneven bars, Rivera was steady, grabbing the bar on the catch-and-release she had missed two nights earlier, but still found herself more than a point behind Pease, the night-one leader.

In the second rotation, Rivera was rock solid on balance beam, earning a 14.400 to cut the deficit to half a point.

She finally took the lead in the third rotation, where her powerful floor routine earned a 14.300 to Pease’s 13.200 . She opened with a nearly stuck full-twisting double layout and followed with a clean double layout.

Rivera closed out her second straight U.S. title on vault, a double-twisting Yurchenko for a 14.400 .

Carey saw a statement in it. “Hezly did a fantastic job, rebounding from night one and proving to herself and everybody else that that was just a little fluke,” she said. “Back-to-back national champion is something she should be really proud of.”

Claire Pease, Charleigh Bullock signal a new generation of American talent

A year ago, Pease entered as one to watch, having won the U.S. Classic just weeks earlier. But major errors dropped her to 10th overall.

In Phoenix, she found herself atop the leaderboard after night one.

Pease opened Sunday with a 14.350 on the uneven bars, nearly sticking her double front half-out dismount, and held the lead through the halfway point after a 13.800 on balance beam.

Small errors cost her on floor exercise, where she went out of bounds on her opening double-double and nearly again on her second. A 13.200 dropped her to second, behind Rivera.

Pease, the 2024 U.S. junior champion, scored 13.850 on vault to complete her day.

She was not the only youngster to make her mark in Phoenix. Bullock’s bronze came in her first year as a senior.

The 16-year-old’s highlight came on uneven bars, where her 28.350 across the two days power her to third on the event and in the all-around.

“I wasn’t really expecting that, so I’m really happy I got to be up there,” Bullock said of her first senior all-around podium. “Being a senior is really fun.”

Jade Carey and Skye Blakely show the veterans’ staying power

Carey and Blakely brought some of the deepest credentials in the field.

Carey was solid, if not spectacular, across the two days, her biggest miss was a stumbled double back dismount on balance beam Sunday. The Tokyo 2020 floor champion still picked up the U.S. vault title and placed third on floor.

Competing in her hometown, Carey leaned on the crowd.

“That was really fun, to hear so many supporters that I know personally and have that hometown feel,” she said. “It was really special for me tonight.”

Like Blakely, she is early in a return.

“It’s my first year back [in the all-around],” she said. “We’re really trying to build smartly and safely and get me to a place where I’m going to be healthy for the next two or three years.”

Competing the all-around for the first time in an elite gymnastics meet since 2024, Blakely was tied for the lead after night one.

But she put herself in a hole early on Sunday, undercooking her opening tumbling pass on floor exercise and stepping out of bounds on her last. An 11.900 dropped her to fifth with three events to go.

She steadied with a 13.950 on vault and a 14.250 on uneven bars, but came undone on balance beam, falling twice, first on her wolf double turn and then on her front handspring front series. An 11.600 there left her seventh.

Blakely refused to leave without perspective.

“The reality of today is, I am proud. Am I a little irritated? I am, because I know I can compete better than what I did today,” she said. “But no matter the emotions I feel, overall, just be proud of where I am.”

“This wasn’t easy, to just return but also come back from an injury,” she added. “Day one was more than I could ask for.”

Picture by 2026 Getty Images