USA Gymnastics used to operate in a manner that suggested younger was better when constructing its Olympic teams.
From 2000 to 2016, the average age of a United States gymnast was 18.5 years old. Just eight of the 28 gymnasts named to Team USA were 20 or older, and with each year, it seemed like the demographic was skewing younger and younger.
Since 2020, things have changed. The United States has trusted more veteran gymnasts — who have been able to maintain their high-end ability longer thanks to advances in sports medicine and training — to carry the team.
In 2024, they are bringing a very experienced roster of competitors, four of whom are 21-plus years old and have previous Olympic experience. That makes the five-woman team one of the oldest rosters in the U.S. women’s gymnastics team’s 100-plus-year history.
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USA gymnastics roster by age
Simone Biles is the oldest gymnast on Team USA. She turned 27 on March 14, and that will make her the oldest American Olympic gymnast to compete at the Summer Games since 1952.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, Hezly Rivera made the squad despite being just 16. To put that in perspective, she was just a couple of months old when the Nastia Liukin-led Team USA gymnastics took home a silver medal at the Beijing Olympics.
Below is a full run-down of the USA gymnastics roster by age:
Team
| Simone Biles | 27 |
| Jade Carey | 24 |
| Jordan Chiles | 23 |
| Suni Lee | 21 |
| Hezly Rivera | 16 |
Alternates
| Leanne Wong | 20 |
| Joscelyn Roberson | 18 |
MORE: Meet the full Team USA roster for the Paris Olympics, from Simone Biles to Hezly Rivera
Oldest USA gymnastics teams
The 2024 U.S. women’s gymnastics team is the fourth-oldest roster that America has sent to the Olympic Games. It has an average age of 22.2 years old, buoyed by Biles, Carey, Chiles, and Lee all being at least 23.
Team USA hasn’t sent a roster that old to the Olympics since 1952, when it sent its oldest-ever squad. The group had an average age of 26.25 years thanks to the inclusion of Marie Hoesly (35) and Dorothy Dalton (30) on the team.
Below is a look at Team USA gymnastics’ average roster age at each Olympics, sorted from the oldest to the youngest.
| Year | Average age |
| 1952 | 26.25 |
| 1936 | 23.38 |
| 1948 | 22.75 |
| 2024 | 22.2 |
| 2020 | 20.83 |
| 1956 | 20 |
| 2004 | 19.67 |
| 2016 | 19.2 |
| 2000 | 19.17 |
| 1960 | 18.33 |
| 1972 | 18.33 |
| 1964 | 18 |
| 1968 | 17.67 |
| 2008 | 17.67 |
| 1996 | 17.57 |
| 1976 | 17.5 |
| 1984 | 17.5 |
| 1992 | 16.71 |
| 1988 | 16.5 |
| 2012 | 16.4 |
While Team USA isn’t quite making history in 2024, it’s worth noting that 16-year-old Hezly Rivera is dragging down the average roster age significantly. Had a slightly older gymnast been selected for the team, the average roster age could have surpassed the third-place marks of 22.75 years recorded in 1948.
Even with Rivera adding some youth to the fold, Team USA is set to have its most experienced Olympic roster in recent memory. That should give American gymnastics fans hope that the United States can challenge for the gold medal once again.
Oldest gymnasts in Team USA history
Marie Hoesly is the oldest gymnast to ever represent Team USA at the Olympics. She was 35 when she competed at the 1952 Helsinki Games.
Biles will become the oldest American female gymnast to go to the Olympics since 1952.
Below is a look at all of the competitors aged 25 or older to compete for the U.S. women’s gymnastics team at the Olympics:
| Gymnast | Year | Age |
| Marie Hoesly | 1952 | 35 |
| Adelaide Meyer | 1936 | 30 |
| Dorothy Dalton | 1952 | 30 |
| Mary Wright | 1936 | 28 |
| Meta Elste-Neumann | 1952 | 28 |
| Marian Barone | 1952 | 28 |
| Irma Haubold | 1936 | 27 |
| Simone Biles | 2024 | 27 |
| Dorothy Dalton | 1948 | 26 |
| Annia Hatch | 2004 | 26 |
| Ada Lunardoni | 1936 | 25 |
| Ruth Topalian | 1952 | 25 |
| Linda Metheny | 1972 | 25 |
| Mohini Bhardwaj | 2004 | 25 |
If Biles opts to return to the Olympics for the 2028 Los Angeles Games, she could move to second place all-time on the list. Gabby Douglas — currently 28 — is considering a comeback in LA, so she could move ahead of Dorothy Dalton and Adelaide Meyer if she can make the roster.
But at least for the Paris Games, the number of American women aged 30 or older to compete in Olympic gymnastics will remain stuck at three.
Youngest gymnasts in Team USA history
The United States has brought two 14-year-old gymnasts to the Olympics: Kerri Strug in 1992 and Dominique Moceanu in 1996. That said, Strug’s debut came at a younger age, as she made her Olympic debut roughly two months younger than Moceanu made hers.
Team USA has also brought 12 15-year-olds to the Olympics, and Hezly Rivera will be the 19th 16-year-old to represent the country.
Below is a look at the youngest gymnasts in Team USA’s history.
| Gymnast | Year | Age |
| Kerri Strug | 1992 | 14 |
| Dominique Moceanu | 1996 | 14 |
| Muriel Grossfeld | 1956 | 15 |
| Cathy Rigby | 1968 | 15 |
| Nancy Thies | 1972 | 15 |
| Michelle Dusserre | 1984 | 15 |
| Pam Bileck | 1984 | 15 |
| Chelle Stack | 1988 | 15 |
| Phoebe Mills | 1988 | 15 |
| Brandy Johnson | 1988 | 15 |
| Shannon Miller | 1992 | 15 |
| Dominique Dawes | 1992 | 15 |
| Tasha Schwikert | 2000 | 15 |
| Kyla Ross | 2012 | 15 |
| Gail Sontgerath | 1960 | 16 |
| Janie Speaks | 1964 | 16 |
| Colleen Mulvihill | 1968 | 16 |
| Kimberly Chace | 1972 | 16 |
| Debra Willcox | 1976 | 16 |
| Kolleen Casey | 1976 | 16 |
| Mary Lou Retton | 1984 | 16 |
| Melissa Marlowe | 1988 | 16 |
| Kim Zmeskal | 1992 | 16 |
| Jaycie Phelps | 1996 | 16 |
| Carly Patterson | 2004 | 16 |
| Courtney McCool | 2004 | 16 |
| Bridget Sloan | 2008 | 16 |
| Samantha Peszek | 2008 | 16 |
| Shawn Johnson | 2008 | 16 |
| McKayla Maroney | 2012 | 16 |
| Gabby Douglas | 2012 | 16 |
| Laurie Hernandez | 2016 | 16 |
| Hezly Rivera | 2024 | 16 |
