Panamanian Gymnast Hillary Heron Made Her Dream Come True

Panamanian gymnast Hillary Heron made her dream come true this Sunday, with a great performance in her debut at the Olympic Games, in the third subdivision of individual artistic gymnastics, at the Bercy Arena.  At Paris 2024, Heron looked captivating in a turquoise jersey, wearing number 375. She was joined by OK An Chang (North Korea), Luisa Blanco (Colombia) and Filipa Martins (Portugal). In the end, she would accumulate 50.765 points on the four apparatus and remains in sixth position in the vault, at the end of the first three subdivisions.  Additionally, Heron made history by becoming the first gymnast other than Simone Biles to do a Biles 1 at the Olympics.  The Isthmus native began her participation in the vault apparatus, third in the rotation, in which she performed twice in her quest to qualify for the final.

The 20-year-old Heron did a one-and-a-half-spin on the first attempt, while on the second she performed a Yurchenko. This performance earned her a score of 13.65.  “This is a dream come true, fulfilling Hillary’s dream of four years. I left to leave the country on a high note. I am excited about what is next in my career,” Heron said in an interview.  Next up, Heron performed on the uneven bars, finishing second in the group, looking confident and managing to perform well to earn a score of 11.766.  The third apparatus of the day for the Isthmus native was the balance beam. Heron looked very confident and calm in her performance. On this apparatus, Heron obtained a score of 12.160. 

The closing was monumental, on the floor apparatus, Hillary showed off all her elegance and majesty in the Bercy Arena. Heron used the “Biles” and with good lines throughout the performance. The judges gave her 13.033.  According to the International Gymnastics Federation (FIG), Heron becomes the first gymnast other than Simone Biles to land a Biles 1 at the Olympic Games. There are still two subdivisions left to know the final results. Subdivision four is already active, while the fifth starts at 2:10 p.m.

Panamanian swimmer Emily Santos finished sixth in her heat at the Olympic Games