Meet Rebeca Andrade, all about the Brazilian gymnast who will be a tough competitor to Simone Biles at the Paris Olympics

Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade
Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade; All images - Getty

Rebeca Andrade won the gold medal in the vault and the silver medal in the all-around competition at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, becoming the first Brazilian gymnast to medal at the Olympics. She amassed nine medals at the World Championships over the years, out of which three are gold medals. She swept two vault titles in 2021 and 2023 and the all-around at the 2022 Worlds, making her the second Brazilian woman to win gold on the World stage.

Some years of Andrade's career were marred by ACL injuries, which struck her out of three World Championships in 2015, 2017 and 2019. Though she performed above par in 2016 and 2018, she had to undergo reconstructive surgeries to fix her knee. In October 2019, Andrade shed light on how determined she was to win more.

"I've overcome a lot of things, and each time I overcame something tough, I was more determined to come back; I wanted to win even more," she said. (via Olympics.com)

At the 2023 World Championships, Rebeca Andrade posed a serious competition to Simone Biles, outdoing her in the vault routine in which the latter executed her signature Yurchenko Double Pike. Moreover, Andrade's performance contributed scores to the Brazilian gymnastics team's historic first world team medal (silver), finishing 2.199 points behind the US.

She individually earned the silver in the all-around and floor competitions behind her US counterpart, Simone Biles. The wins at the 2023 Worlds solidified her position as a heavy medal favorite at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Rebeca Andrade's family and hometown

Andrade was born on May 8, 1999, in Guarulhos, the second-most populous city in the Brazilian State of São Paulo. She grew up with seven siblings, raised by their single mother, Rosa. Her mother toiled hard to bring the children up, cleaning houses and walking to her workplace.

When did Rebeca Andrade take up the sport?

Rebeca Andrade started her gymnastics training at the age of four after her aunt took her to the gym she worked in. She moved to Curitiba to train at nine and later shifted to Flamengo, the multi-sports club based in Rio de Janeiro.

Rebeca Andrade awaits a tough bout with arch-rival Simone Biles

With the Paris Olympics ready to roll in, the nine-time world medalist Andrade looks forward to a highly contentious bout with Simone Biles, the 30-time world medalist.

"It’s about doing my best, and I hope [Biles] does, too, that she does her best because it’s an honour to be able to compete alongside her," she said. (via Olympics.com)

In the documentary 'Simone Biles Rising,' Biles shared that Andrade intimidates her on the gymnastic mat.

"Rebeca Andrade. She scares me the most"

At the 2024 Paris Olympics, the 25-year-old will vie for her first all-around Olympic gold, in contention with two Olympic all-around champions, Simone Biles and Suni Lee.

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Edited by Vaishnavi Iyer
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