Nastia Liukin, Hezly Rivera, and others react as Team USA unveils selected gymnasts for Pan American Championships

Former gymnast Nastia Liukin recently reacted to the news regarding the athletes selected to represent Team USA at the Pan American Gymnastics Championships. The event is slated to take place from June 12-15 in Panama City, Panama.

The Pan American Gymnastics Championships is one of the most significant steps for the gymnasts vying for a spot at the 2025 World Championships, which will take place in Jakarta, Indonesia. USA Gymnastics recently shared the names of the gymnasts who will compete for Team USA at the championships on their Instagram handle.

In the first slide, they shared a picture of Hezly Rivera in her gym attire, and in the next slide, they revealed the names of the athletes. The lineup for Team USA includes Dulcy Caylor, Jayla Hang, Gabrielle Hardie, Hezly Rivera, Tiana Sumanasekera, and Alessia Rosa. Notably, Rosa will serve as a traveling reserve. Along with this, they added a caption that read:

"The following athletes have been selected to represent Team USA at the upcoming Artistic Pan American Championships! Gabrielle Hardie & Alessia Rosa will also be added to the Senior Women’s National Team, presented by @Xfinity!"

This post caught the attention of Nastia Liukin, who made her feelings known about the selected team in the comment section. She wrote

"👏👏👏"

Following her, Rivera, who is also a part of the team, exuded excitement by commenting:

"So excited!!❤️"

Another participant, Caylor, also left a comment that read:

"So excited!!🇺🇸"

Nastia Liukin opened up about what made Simone Biles' routines different from others

In an interview with USA Today, former American gymnast Nastia Liukin once made her feelings known about Simone Biles' routines. She lauded the gymnast for accomplishing even the difficult tasks easily. Talking about the most decorated gymnast's dedication while competing, she said.

"The thing that sets her apart from so many others is... it's not only the level of difficulty because of the skills that she does and the skills that are named after her and even more. It's also the way she performs them, it's done with such ease. And that's the point of when you're an athlete, a gymnast, I guess you want to make it look easy. You don't want it look like a struggle," Nastia Liukin said.

She added:

"And I think that's what to an extent you are judged on as well. But she makes it look so easy that it's like 'oh anybody could do that' and it's the complete opposite. In fact, nobody in the world can do it. And not only can nobody not do it, but do it do well."

Nastia Liukin won five Olympic medals during the course of her career, including one gold, three silver, and one bronze. After retiring in 2012, the former gymnast started working in the media as a commentator for NBC. Additionally, she runs a blog on fashion and beauty.

About the author

An English Honors graduate, Nancy is a journalist at Sportskeeda covering US Olympic sports. She has a total experience of 4 years, having previously worked as a Marketing Executive for BYJU’S before finding her footing at SK.

To deliver the best content, Nancy keeps herself updated by reading as much as possible about the athletes and the sport, and believes that researching and trusting credible sources is the key to reporting ethical and accurate information.

Track and Field events particularly interest Nancy, and she is a fan of Allyson Felix. While she cherished each of her victories, her favorite Olympic moment happens to be the retired athlete’s 10th medal at the Games.

Nancy believes that covering the personal lives and training sessions of the Olympic athletes, and showcasing old podcasts or interviews would help bridge the coverage gap of the sport in its off season.

When away from her keyboard, Nancy spends most of her free time reading books. She also writes poems and plans on publishing a book.

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Edited by Pratham K Sharma