"I wanted a little gold medal so much"- Rebeca Andrade opens up about defeating legendary Simone Biles in floor event at Paris Olympic

Rebeca Andrade recently reflected on defeating legendary gymnast Simone Biles in the floor event at the Paris Games. The Brazilian star defeated Biles after scoring a total of 14.166 points.

While speaking to BBC World Service, Andrade acknowledged that everyone aims to be an Olympic champion, highlighting that her personal goal wasn't to beat Biles. Following her beam routine, where she missed the podium finish with only one spot, the Brazilian turned to her teammate Julinha Soares to express how badly she wanted a gold medal.

Speaking about the floor routine, she highlighted that although it wasn't the best floor routine of her career, she gave it her best effort and was thrilled after the results were announced.

"Everyone wants to be an Olympic champion, right? That's the starting point. But I don't know if that was the goal, to beat Simone," Andrade said.

"After the beam final, I remember I turned to Julinha, who is my teammate, and I said, ' Oh, I wanted a little gold medal so much.' And then we went to the floor and I did best I could that day. It wasn't my best series but it was my best of that day. And when the results came, when everything had been decided, I couldn't believe it." (2:06 wonwards)

Rebeca Andrade became the first Brazilian woman to win four Olympic medals at the Paris Games

Rebeca Andrade of Team Brazil at the Olympic Games 2024 in Paris, France. (Photo by Getty Images)

Rebeca Andrade became the first Brazilian woman to secure four Olympic medals in the same edition of the Games. She achieved this career-defining feat at the 2024 Paris Games.

Her impressive win at the 2024 Games became more significant as the gymnast achieved the victories after overcoming three ACL injuries in four years. At the French capital, she followed the legendary gymnast Simone Biles to secure a silver medal in the all-around event. While Biles collected 59.131 points, Andrade bagged 57.932 points.

She shared the podium with the American duo in the vault routine, collecting a silver medal. Andrade led her Brazilian team to a podium finish after following the American and Italian squads. So far in her remarkable career, Andrade has made three Olympic appearances, including the 2016 Rio, 2020 Tokyo, and 2024 Paris Games.`

Rebeca Andrade has gathered six Olympic medals so far, including two gold, three silver, and one bronze medal.