Getty Image / Photo By Elsa
Imagine the way your heart races when your favorite team is in a tense situation in a big game. Now, imagine that it’s a loved one playing and think of how you’d feel physically.
NBC decided to show just how nervous one parent was while watching their daughter compete, as they got 16-year old Hezly Rivera’s dad, Henry, to wear a heart monitor as his daughter competed in her Olympics debut for the USA Women’s Gymnastics Olympic Team on Sunday morning during qualifications.
Rivera, who was considered a long shot to make the Olympic team just a few months ago, snuck on the team due to a few injuries to top contenders and a great performance at both the National Championships and Olympic Trials.
Unfortunately, Rivera didn’t have her best day, especially on Balance Beam, where a bunch of wobbles led to a score of 12.333, 46th of 78. She was better on the team’s final event, and her last of two, Uneven Bars, placing 20th out of 80 with a 13.9.
It was on that event that the broadcast showed a replay of a live heart rate monitor of her dad, and the results were hilarious but predictable.
Henry Rivera’s heart rate was hovering in the 160’s, and shot up into the low 180’s during the routine. For comparison, a normal heart rate is between 60 and 100 beats per minute. 180 is what your heart does during vigorous exercise. He wasn’t exercising, he was just watching his daughter at the Olympics!
Team USA qualified in first place by well over five points, a very healthy margin, as Simone Biles soared once again. If they repeat that performance, they will get back the team gold medal they let slip away in Tokyo.