Rebeca Andrade: Simone Biles says this gymnast ‘scares’ her the most out of all her competitors

CNN
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Eight-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is definitely onerous to beat however doing so isn’t inconceivable.

Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade could possibly be Biles’ greatest competitors in Thursday’s all-around finals – and has gone head-to-head with the American earlier than. In Biles’ Netflix documentary, which premiered final month, the US star mentioned that Andrade “scares” her essentially the most out of all her rivals.

On the World Championships final yr, Andrade took gold within the vault, whereas Biles took silver. This victory made Andrade the primary athlete to surpass Biles on the vault in that competitors since 2015. Andrade additionally gained the world all-around gold medal in 2022.

However the Brazilian gymnast’s trajectory to success wasn’t clean crusing. After coping with what may be career-ending accidents to gymnasts (ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019) and going by way of three knee surgical procedures, she has proven grit within the face of adversity.

She turned the primary South American to step onto the all-around podium, incomes a silver medal on the 2020 Olympic Video games in Tokyo. She completed second to Workforce USA’s Sunisa Lee, however 4 days later, she gained gold on vault over American MyKayla Skinner.

Andrade, a São Paulo native, grew up with seven siblings and began gymnastics coaching at age 5 after her aunt took her to coaching classes on the gymnasium the place she labored.

She comes from humble beginnings – her mom, Rosa, cleaned homes to help her household and to pay for Andrade’s coaching. In 2009, Andrade moved to Curitiba earlier than taking her abilities to Flamengo’s membership in Rio only a yr later. Now, she’s an Olympic and world champion, and maybe a ladies’s particular person all-around ultimate winner on this summer season’s Olympics.

One space the place Andrade might probably outshine Biles is on the uneven bars. Whereas the American tends to execute properly on the equipment, performing a tough routine, Andrade has a greater swing and may outscore her with the judges.

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In the meantime, the steadiness beam is a wild card: each gymnasts carry out properly, however Andrade must enhance the issue in her routine to outperform Biles. This equipment could make a distinction between who wins gold and who wins silver.

On the ground routine, Biles’ issue provides her a big benefit. But, contemplating that “artistry” is now counting as a part of the rating, Andrade’s fascinating dance expertise may be her ace up the sleeve. General, Biles is favored on the ground except Andrade upgrades her routine.

Within the vault, Biles has essentially the most tough maneuver in ladies’s gymnastics, “the Biles II.” But, Andrade might carry out her “secret vault,” the triple-twisting Yurchenko, which might get a vault named after her and take the competitors to a different peak. But, as that is merely hypothesis, it’s onerous to know whether or not she will be able to pull off the transfer.

No matter who wins, one factor is for certain: Rebeca Andrade will struggle for gold. In an interview, she made her message clear to her followers.

“They need to anticipate me to offer 110%, no matter what occurs within the competitors,” she mentioned. “I’ll get there, give myself, physique and soul, even with all the eye and expectations.”