Rebeca Andrade, first Brazilian woman to win artistic gymnastics gold, reveals her

history of comebacks
TOKYO, JAPAN - AUGUST
01

After injuries had tried to keep Brazilian artistic gymnast Rebeca Andrade down over the
last few years, she soared to new heights for her nation at Tokyo 2020.
Having won silver in the individual all-around, Andrade became the first Brazil woman to
win an Olympic gold medal in artistic gymnastics on Sunday (1 August), coming out on top
in the vault finals.
After Andrade (15.083) edged out MyKayla Skinner of the U.S., at 14.916, the emotion
poured out of an athlete who has been through so many struggles since becoming a home
favourite at Rio 2016.
"It's a huge pride for me because I saw how much I've grown, I've matured, and it's really
good," she told Olympics.com after her victory. "I feel so overwhelmed, happy. I'm feeling
incredible."
She added: "It's so good when you are able to perform your best. ... Reaching the podium,
the result is a consequence. I didn't imagine that I would return doing all these vaults,
improving my first vault."
Having competed for host nation Brazil in Rio, Andrade learned in June 2019 that she had
suffered her third ACL tear while competing at the Brazilian Championships.
“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,” Andrade told Olympic Channel in
an exclusive interview in October 2019. “And I believe it won't be different.”
That injury kept her out of the 2019 World Championships in what ended up being the first
of many blows to a team that a year earlier had challenged for the bronze medal.
“Not being able to help my team,” said Andrade at the time. “To be watching and not being
able to compete, not doing what I was born to do is really hard.
“The hardest part is when you have to go back practicing because you end up feeling a little
pain and more. Since it was the third time this happened, I had a bit more body awareness
and I also knew a little more about the process of this rehabilitation,” she explained. “So, it
wasn't so heavy, so difficult for me to go back to doing things. Now, everything is fine.”
“I thought I would be anxious, and I think anxiety ends up affecting the preparation. But it
wasn't a problem for me,” Andrade said. “I feel OK because - since I had more time to train
and prepare - this is also helpful, as you feel stronger mentally and more prepared
physically.”
Andrade said she worked with a psychologist on mental rehearsal, visualizing performing
her elements under the immense pressure of Olympic qualification. But part of that mental
strength comes also from having learned about herself during the pandemic.