USA gymnastics roster by age: How Simone Biles, other Olympic veterans rank among oldest gymnastics teams

Jacob Camenker

USA gymnastics roster by age: How Simone Biles, other Olympic veterans rank among oldest gymnastics teams image

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 Biles27
Jade Carey24
Jordan Chiles23
Suni Lee21
Hezly Rivera16

Alternates

Leanne Wong20
Joscelyn Roberson18

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.

YearAverage age
195226.25
193623.38
194822.75
202422.2
202020.83
195620
200419.67
201619.2
200019.17
196018.33
197218.33
196418
196817.67
200817.67
199617.57
197617.5
198417.5
199216.71
198816.5
201216.4

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:

GymnastYearAge
Marie Hoesly195235
Adelaide Meyer193630
Dorothy Dalton195230
Mary Wright193628
Meta Elste-Neumann195228
Marian Barone195228
Irma Haubold193627
Simone Biles202427
Dorothy Dalton194826
Annia Hatch200426
Ada Lunardoni193625
Ruth Topalian195225
Linda Metheny197225
Mohini Bhardwaj200425

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.

GymnastYearAge
Kerri Strug199214
Dominique Moceanu199614
Muriel Grossfeld195615
Cathy Rigby196815
Nancy Thies197215
Michelle Dusserre198415
Pam Bileck198415
Chelle Stack198815
Phoebe Mills198815
Brandy Johnson198815
Shannon Miller199215
Dominique Dawes199215
Tasha Schwikert200015
Kyla Ross201215
Gail Sontgerath196016
Janie Speaks196416
Colleen Mulvihill196816
Kimberly Chace197216
Debra Willcox197616
Kolleen Casey197616
Mary Lou Retton198416
Melissa Marlowe198816
Kim Zmeskal199216
Jaycie Phelps199616
Carly Patterson200416
Courtney McCool200416
Bridget Sloan200816
Samantha Peszek200816
Shawn Johnson200816
McKayla Maroney201216
Gabby Douglas201216
Laurie Hernandez201616
Hezly Rivera202416

Jacob Camenker

Jacob Camenker Photo

Jacob Camenker first joined The Sporting News as a fantasy football intern in 2018 after his graduation from UMass. He became a full-time employee with TSN in 2021 and now serves as a senior content producer with a particular focus on the NFL. Jacob worked at NBC Sports Boston as a content producer from 2019 to 2021. He is an avid fan of the NFL Draft and ranked 10th in FantasyPros’ Mock Draft Accuracy metric in both 2021 and 2022.