Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade won the Olympic gold in the floor exercises on Monday, writing a new chapter in the sporting history of her country and our continent. It was no less than Andrade’s fourth medal at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games and the sixth Olympic podium she has been part of in her career. And as if that were not enough, she beat the big favorite, the American Simone Biles, in second place.
Rebeca chose the funk song “Baile de Favela” to perform her floor routine at the Arena Bercy. The jury awarded her a score of 14.166, above the 14.133 that Biles later collected, who twice stepped out of the ring during her routine and paid dearly for those mistakes. The bronze went to the also American Jordan Chiles, with 13.766 points, after a review requested by the American team that left the Romanian Ana Barbosu without a medal – she even celebrated – and generated public repudiation from the legendary Nadia Comaneci, present in the stadium.
Andrade stood on the top step of the podium while Biles (who left Paris with three golds and has seven in her career) and Chiles greeted her with a bow, in an image that traveled the world and will remain engraved in Olympic history as one of the most notable displays of sportsmanship.
“I knew I had the potential and I gave it my all. I was fighting to finally get a gold medal, because I wanted it with all my strength. I’m very happy to have achieved it,” said Andrade after the historic victory.
The 25-year-old Brazilian star thus won her first gold in Paris in the final event of artistic gymnastics at Paris 2024, after missing an incredible opportunity in the previous category, the balance beam. In this event, Biles suffered an unexpected fall and finished fourth, with everything pointing to Andrade, who came next, taking the gold. But the judges gave a surprisingly low score to the South American athlete, who was left off the podium led against all odds by the Italian Alice D’Amato.
Rebeca Andrade, from the favela to Olympic gold
Rebeca Andrade was born and raised in a favela on the outskirts of São Paulo. She started practicing artistic gymnastics thanks to a social sports initiation project that was held near her home. On Monday, she became the most successful Olympic medalist for her country with two golds (the other in the individual vault in Tokyo), three silvers and one bronze.
During her sporting career, Rebeca had to overcome various adversities, including complicated knee operations that made her doubt her continuity in international competitions.
“I’ve had a lot of surgeries. I can’t afford not to concentrate. Even when I’m listening to music or walking down the street, I’m focused,” the gymnast told The Associated Press before the start of her competition at Paris 2024.
Regarding her colleague Simone Biles and the challenge of competing against the American gymnast, Rebecca said: “I don’t think about the others at all. If I focus on what they do, I don’t focus on myself.”
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