Rebeca Andrade and her women’s gymnastics teammates have vaulted into the Brazilian sports history books.
The 25-year-old Brazilian artistic gymnast, who claimed an Olympics gold medal in the vault and a silver medal in the all-around at the 2020 Tokyo Games, dazzled at Bercy Arena on Tuesday to help lead her team to a historic bronze medal in the women’s artistic team all-around event at the 2024 Paris Games.
It’s the nation’s first-ever team medal in women’s gymnastics.
Andrade, who has advanced to the women’s artistic individual all-around following her performance during Sunday’s qualification round, scored a 15.100 on the vault, a 14.533 in the uneven bars, a 14.133 on the balance beam and a 14.200 on the floor exercise.
Andrade’s teammate, Flávia Saraiva, went viral after suffering an accident that left her bandaged and bruised.
During warm-ups for Brazil’s uneven bars rotation on the day of the team finals, Saraiva injured herself after taking a frightening fall from the elevated bars, leaving her with a split-open eye that became a pseudo symbol for the Brazilian team’s impressive showing.
The 24-year-old veteran of the sport went straight into her routine following a quick med check, clinching crucial points for the all-around podium spot.
The Brazilian team — which also includes Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira and Julia Soares — ended with a total score of 164.497, around 6 points behind the gold-winning U.S. team led by Simone Biles.
Saraiva, marking her third Olympic showing, beamed as she received the bronze.
