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Olympic Gymnasts Headline U.S. Roster For 2025 Pan American Championships

Olympic Gymnasts Headline U.S. Roster For 2025 Pan American Championships

Forbes21-05-2025

PARIS, FRANCE: JULY 28: Hezly Rivera of the United States performs her balance beam routine during ... More Artistic Gymnastics, Women's Qualification at the Bercy Arena during the Paris 2024 Summer Olympic Games on July 28th, 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Tim Clayton/Corbis via Getty Images)
Another international stage awaits the nation's top artistic gymnasts.
USA Gymnastics has named the athletes who will represent Team USA at the 2025 Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships, set for June 12–15 in Panama City, Panama.
As one of the year's premier international competitions, the Pan American Championships serve as a crucial stepping stone for gymnasts aiming to earn spots at the 2025 World Championships in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Though a new Olympic cycle is underway, both the men's and women's rosters feature familiar faces from the 2024 Paris Games, bringing experience and star power to the international stage.
MINNEAPOLIS, MN - JUNE 26: Tiana Sumanasekera awaits a turn on the floor exercies area at the ... More Women's U.S. Olympic Gymnastics Team Trials podium training session on June 26, 2024 at Target Center in Minneapolis, MN. (Photo by Matt Blewett/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
Olympic gold medalist Hezly Rivera and Olympic alternate Tiana Sumanasekera headline the six-athlete women's lineup. U.S. National team members Dulcy Caylor, Jayla Hang, Gabrielle Hardie, and Alessia Rosa (alternate) will join them in Panama.
Rivera was the rookie in Paris at just 16 years old, earning an Olympic gold medal as a member of the star-studded team dubbed the "Golden Girls.' Despite her age, Rivera emerges in 2025 as a newfound veteran for the U.S. National Team.
In February, Rivera competed on only the balance beam at the U.S. Winter Cup. Though she struggled on the event, she showed upgraded difficulty and increased scoring potential. Fans hope to see the Olympian compete on all four events in Panama.
June's competition will mark Rivera's first trip to the Pan American Championships and presents an opportunity for the rising star to prove her potential.
Like Rivera, Tiana Sumanasekera emerges as a potential leader for the 2025 U.S. team. The UCLA Gymnastics commit excels on balance beam and floor exercise, and has her sights set on earning her first World Championship appearance later this year.
Sumanasekera has excelled at the Pan American Championships before, winning the team, all-around, and balance beam titles at the 2023 edition in Medellín.
Though initially slated to compete at February's Winter Cup, Sumanasekera withdrew from the event days prior. Thus, June's competition will mark her first appearance at a sanctioned meet since the 2024 U.S. Olympic Trials.
Though the two Olympians will lead the team, Hang is also one to watch. The 17-year-old has already collected two gold medals at this year's World Cup circuit, one on vault and another on floor exercise. Caylor, a 2024 Olympic Trials qualifier, is also a notable addition to the team.
US' Asher Hong competes in the floor event of the artistic gymnastics men's qualification during the ... More Paris 2024 Olympic Games at the Bercy Arena in Paris, on July 27, 2024. (Photo by Gabriel BOUYS / AFP) (Photo by GABRIEL BOUYS/AFP via Getty Images)
Rivera isn't the only Olympic medalist heading to Panama City. Asher Hong, a key contributor to the U.S. men's historic bronze medal in Paris, will lead the newly selected men's team at the Pan American Championships.
Taylor Burkhart, Taylor Christopulos, Brandon Dang, Joshua Karnes, and Junnosuke Iwai (alternate) will join Hong at June's competition.
Hong has been a key catalyst in the U.S. men's team's rise to international competitiveness. In addition to helping Team USA to its first Olympic medal since 2008, the 21-year-old helped clinch the nation's first World team medal since 2014.
Known for his versatility across multiple disciplines, Hong recently led the Stanford Cardinal to a second-place finish while clinching individual NCAA titles on still rings and floor exercise.
Now back on the elite stage, Hong and his teammates hope to make their case for Jakarta while in Panama City.
Christopulos, the bronze medalist at February's Winter Cup, recently received the Nissen-Emery award for the nation's top senior NCAA gymnast. Burkhart, Hong's teammate at Stanford, won gold on floor at March's Antalya World Cup event. Dang also collected gold this year, winning the pommel horse at the 2025 Baku World Cup.
Though streaming details remain unavailable, more information about the event will become available on the FIG website in the coming weeks.

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