Hezly Rivera has withdrawn from the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam because of a left ankle injury. The 18-year-old was the youngest member of the US team that won Olympic gold in Paris in 2024 and is a two-time US all-around champion. Dulcy Caylor, the travelling reserve, takes her place in the five-woman team.
A recurring problem
Earlier in the week Rivera had described herself as "day to day". It is not the first time the ankle has cost her a major event. She sprained the same ankle soon after the 2025 US Championships, which kept her out of the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta. Earlier in 2026 she also pulled out of the Pan American Championships with a sore hamstring, after competing only on vault.
Jade Carey was named as the non-travelling reserve, but she will not fly to Rotterdam.
What it means for the US team
The US women have won every world team title since 2011, seven in a row. Without Rivera, the team in Rotterdam has no gymnast with Olympic experience, which has not happened at a World Championships with a team event since that run began. Skye Blakely is now the only member who has competed in a world team final.
The new US line-up is Skye Blakely, Claire Pease, Charleigh Bullock, Reese Esponda and Dulcy Caylor. Pease, Blakely and Bullock were the top three in the all-around at the selection event.
The loss also matters beyond the team final. A US woman has won an all-around medal at every Olympic Games and World Championships since 2003. Rivera was one of the American gymnasts best placed to continue that streak in Rotterdam.
Schedule
The US women compete in the first women's qualification subdivision at 16:00 on Sunday 18 October. The women's team final is on Wednesday 21 October. More on the US women's team and the full Rotterdam 2026 schedule.
