OLYMPIC CHAMPION REBECA ANDRADE PREPARES FOR FINAL COMPETITION AHEAD OF PARIS 2024
By Scott Bregman - 18 June 2024
Brazilian gymnast
Rebeca Andrade’s final preparations ahead of the Olympic Games Paris 2024 will be on full display this week as she competes at the Trofeu Brasil this Friday and Sunday (21 and 23 June) in Rio.
It will be the last competition for the 24-year-old ahead of next month’s Olympic competition.
In the last three years, Andrade has made it clear, she’s the greatest Brazilian gymnast of all time.
Her history-making efforts began at the Tokyo 2020 Games in 2021, where she became the first South American woman to make it to the all-around podium, finishing second to Team USA’s
Sunisa Lee. Days later, Andrade became the first Brazilian woman to win gold at the Games, claiming the title on the vault.
At the World Championships, she has now amassed nine medals including a historic 2022 world all-around title, the 2023 vault title, and a first-ever team medal last season.
“I don’t think I imagined the number of medals, but I really wanted that,” Andrade told Olympics.com of her 11 career World and Olympic medal haul. “From the moment I had it in my head that that was what I wanted, I knew it could happen.
“It didn’t go through my head every day,” she continued, “If I said this went through my mind, it would be a lie, but every time I arrive at a competition, it’s to fight."
A CHANGED APPROACH FOR ANDRADE
Her determination – and yes, fight - has paid off, as she’s battled back from a series of knee injuries that would have given her an easy excuse to leave the sport.
Instead, she often talks about how she had retooled her approach to training and competition – where she often sits out vault and floor exercise – with the complete trust of her coach, Francisco Porath.
“I have complete freedom to talk to Chico [Porath] and he knows that when I'm in pain, I tell him that, 'Today, it is very difficult. Is it okay for us to hold off on that workout, to do a lighter workout?' because he knows that the next day I'm going to arrive at the gym and I'm going to do my best,” explained Andrade of her approach. “This is very important to me. This exchange that we have, this trust that we have in each other - and also, the physical part, the physical trainer, the multidisciplinary part also with physiotherapy, massage therapy, psychologist [is important].
“I think that the combination of all these things makes me feel good and prepared, even after all the surgeries, even after long days of competition, of coming and talking like this, 'everything will work out. I'm fine, I can do it,'” she continued. “Even though I'm extremely physically or, sometimes, mentally tired, you know? I think the preparation that we do daily inside the gym helps. It prepares me to be here.”
SWAN SONG IN PARIS?
Paris 2024 will be Andrade’s third trip to the Olympic Games, and the event could be the superstar’s career finale.
“I don’t know,” she said in a recent interview with Brazilian Marie Claire about her future in the sport. “It’s going to depend on my body.”
But no matter what happens after Paris, Andrade wants her fans around the world to know one thing about the upcoming Olympiad: she’s giving it everything she’s got.
“They should wait for me to give 110%, regardless of what happens in the competition,” she said. “I need them to know that, you know? That we will arrive to do our best. I will get there, give myself, body and soul, even with all the attention and expectations.
“I think the main thing is to arrive at the competition, do my best and be very happy,” she continued, “because the only person I can control is myself. I hope to be able to bring a lot of joy to my country.”
