Team Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade and Team USA’s Simone Biles. PHOTO: NAOMI BAKER/GETTY IMAGES; ALVARO DIAZ/EUROPA PRESS VIA GETTY IMAGES
Meet the Brazilian gymnast who poses as one of Simone Biles’ toughest competitors as they head into the individual finals at the Paris 2024 Olympics
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade is also gunning for gold.
The Paris 2024 Olympics are underway, and the women’s gymnastics event continues to heat up as competitors head into the individual all-around finals that include the pole vault, parallel bars, balance beam and floor exercise on August 1.
The Brazilian will compete against Team USA’s Simone Biles, the most decorated American gymnast in Olympic history who is one of her biggest threats to the top step, along with Biles’ teammate Suni Lee, who won the gold medal over Andrade’s silver at the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The individual gold medal match comes after Biles and her Team USA teammates — Lee, Jade Carey, Jordan Chiles and Hezly Rivera — won the gold medal in the women’s team gymnastics final at the Paris Games on July 30, beating Italy and Brazil, who finished second and third, respectively.
The Brazilian is a formidable competitor and also a history-maker. Andrade’s silver medal in Tokyo marked the first time a South American woman has finished on the Olympic all-around podium. A few days later, she became the first Brazilian woman to win a gold medal at the Games by finishing first in the vault final.
While Andrade and Biles are no strangers to competition, Biles will be a first-timer when she and Lee advance to the all-around final. It will be the first time two all-around gold medalists have faced off at the Olympics.
Read on to learn more about Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade, who will face off against Simone Biles in the all-around final at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
She is from São Paulo, Brazil
Team Brazil's Rebeca Andrade warms up during the women's artistic gymnastics qualification on day two of the 2024 Paris Olympics on July 28. NAOMI BAKER/GETTY IMAGES
Rebeca Andrade was born in São Paulo, Brazil on May 8, 1999. She and her seven siblings were raised by their single mother in a working-class neighborhood in a densely populated city in their home country, according to NPR.
The Olympian's love of gymnastics began at a young age, taking up the sport at age four in part because she was "always active" throughout her childhood. "My aunt took me to the gym where she worked and I started doing gymnastics. It was amazing," Andrade told the International Gymnastics Federation.
"I think if it wasn't for that program, they wouldn't have seen my talent and I would have just been a girl playing on the street," she added.
She is a two-time Olympic medalist
Team USA's Simone Biles, China's Yaqin Zhou and Brazil's Rebeca Andrade stand on the podium at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships-Antwerp. TIM CLAYTON/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
Paris 2024 will mark Andrade's third appearance at the Summer Games. She made her debut at the 2016 Rio Games, followed by the 2020 Tokyo Games.
The Brazilian gymnast won her first Olympic medal in Tokyo, taking home silver in the all-around behind Team USA's Lee. She soon after won gold in the vault final, making history for her country.
She’s one of Simone Biles’ biggest Olympic rivals
Brazil’s Rebecca Andrade celebrates her victory in the vault event at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. LOIC VENANCE/AFP VIA GETTY IMAGES
Biles is one of Andrade’s biggest threats to the Olympic gold medal in gymnastics all-around because of their respective skills in all four events: vault, parallel bars, balance beam and floor.
The two athletes prepared for a fierce battle during qualifying on Aug. 28, with Andrade finishing second to Biles in the all-around heats. Days later, Andrade and Brazil won bronze in the team event on July 30 while Biles and Team USA took home the gold medal.
She praised Simone Biles
Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade embrace after the women’s floor final at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships-Antwerp. TIM CLAYTON/CORBIS VIA GETTY IMAGES
Despite their rivalry, Biles and Andrade have a mutual respect for each other’s games. The two gymnasts have spoken highly of each other in past interviews.
In May, Andrade said it would be an “honor” to compete with Biles ahead of the 2024 Olympics, and said she “hopes” Biles “gives her all” when she competes against her in Paris. “I love her so much,” she told The Washington Post of Biles in July.
Biles said in her Netflix documentary, Simone Biles Rising , that Andrade “scared me the most” of all her competitors. However, she said they “pushed each other the best we could to be the best we could be” and called Andrade a “phenomenal gymnast.”
Her mother and siblings supported her gymnastics dreams
Russia’s Angelina Melnikova, the U.S.’s Sunisa Lee and Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade won medals at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics. JAMIE SQUIRE/GETTY IMAGES
As one of eight children of a single mother, Andrade has spoken about the challenges her family faced growing up in Brazil, especially in pursuing her gymnastics dreams.
"The hardest part was the financial aspect," Andrade said, according to Olympics.com. "My mom walked to work so I could use her bus pass to go to the gym with my brother, so I'm very grateful to her and my siblings for making my dream come true."
She added, "Regardless of where you come from, your financial situation, or the color of your skin, you have to believe in yourself and not let anyone stop you from achieving your goals."/people.com
