The world’s best gymnast, recent Olympic champion in artistic gymnastics all-around in Paris 2024, spoke bluntly about her biggest competitor.
Simone Biles, gold medalist, and Rebeca Andrade, silver medalist in the all-around final. Sunisa Lee with the bronze. (GettyImages)
It’s clear that a new rivalry has been born in the world of Olympic sports. Gymnastics, known for its high demands, has seen countless clashes between athletes due to competitiveness. Now, with Simone Biles reigning in first place for some time, someone has come close to snapping at her heels. Rebeca Andrade managed to shake the American, who confessed the stress she went through before winning the gold medal.
Winning the gold medal was no easy task. Although the American athlete is far superior in terms of the difficulty of her routines, the 25-year-old Brazilian was very close in the overall score, something she had never suffered before in her experience.
Simone achieved a score of 59.131 over Andrade’s 57.932. The American herself confessed that “It means a lot to me and it’s crazy. I don’t want to compete with Rebecca. No more. I’m tired as if she was too close. I’ve never had an athlete so close” and made clear the tension of the end. Perhaps, there will be a more than interesting crossover in the next edition of Los Angeles 2028.
Simone Biles made history at the 2024 Olympics: gold medal in the individual all-around
However, both athletes have an excellent relationship and this was demonstrated in competition: they applauded each other’s routines and smiled in admiration. “I was alert and it brought out the best athlete in me. So I’m excited and proud to compete with her,” she said, although she confirmed her position with her rival: “I don’t like it. I’m uncomfortable, guys. I like that feeling. I was stressed,” she continued, laughing with the press.
The Brazilian managed to bring tension to the stadium when she took the lead in the middle of the competition. On the uneven bars, Rebeca easily outperformed her pursuers, including Simone, who had problems on this apparatus and was briefly behind in the overall standings. Thanks to her performance on the beam and floor, the winner of six Olympic medals redeemed herself and delivered the final blow.
When will Simone Biles compete again at the Paris 2024 Olympics?
After her inconsistent performance at the Tokyo Olympics, when she admitted her instability and raised awareness about mental health in sports, Biles has made a strong comeback in Paris 2024 and already has two gold medals (team and individual all-around). But her performance in the French capital is not over yet and she could win three more in the apparatus finals: vault (Saturday, August 3), uneven bars (Sunday, August 4) and beam and floor (both on Sunday, August 5).
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