New Orleans, Aug 9 (AP) Hezly Rivera cruised to the lead at the U.S. gymnastics championships on Friday night, putting together four steady and occasionally excellent routines on her way to a 55.600, putting her in strong position to claim her first national title on Sunday.

Rivera, the youngest member of the five-woman team that cruised to gold at the 2024 Olympics, bounced back from a bumpy performance at the U.S. Classic last month. The now 17-year-old posted the top score on balance beam (14.350) and the second-highest score on floor exercise (14.000) to lead a very young field taking their first tentative steps toward the world championships this fall and — well down the road — the 2028 Olympics in Los Angeles.

Joscelyn Roberson, an Olympic alternate last summer and a rising sophomore at Arkansas, is second at 55.400. Roberson, who trained alongside two-time Olympic champion Simone Biles, finished with a dazzling floor routine to move past four-time world championship medalist Leanne Wong at 55.100.

Rivera, Roberson and Wong will head into Sunday well ahead of the rest of a field whose average age is just under 18, a significant departure from the run-up to Paris, when Biles and a group of older athletes took center stage. (AP) ATK

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