“Whenever she could be there with us, she would be tired but very present.” This was Rosa Santos, not just the woman who gave birth to Rebeca Andrade but shaped that very flexible backbone the gymnast has. At just 10 years of age, she had to shift to Curitiba, to learn her trade under the tutelage of Francisco “Xico” Porath Neto. But leaving home is hard, especially even when you have not even hit your teenage; but what helped the Brazilian, and what role did her mother play in it?

Now the protective feelings of motherhood would stop her daughter from going out into the world at such a young age, but that would also mean curbing her dreams, Rosa Santos was better than that. In her interview with Elle Magazine, Andrade recalled, “And then my mother, instead of clipping my wings, she was the person who gave me the most impetus to fly, to run with my own legs, to achieve my goals in my own way,” 

But despite the distances she had to travel and the time she had to spend away, Andrade always knew that she had “a home to return to.” Struggles did find her way to the Brazilian, but she was ready for it.

The gymnast remembered that her early life had taught her whatever skills she needed to survive in the new world—mental fortitude, the ability to think on her feet, and the flexibility to fit into new surroundings.

And while Rosa Santos was largely responsible for building the determination that Andrade has come to be known for, she was also there when the gymnast’s determination faltered at one of the most important stages of her career.

How Rosa Santos brought back Rebeca Andrade’s confidence

“I’m still scared to do gymnastics.” This was what Simone Biles said after withdrawing from the team competition at the Tokyo Olympics. Biles admitted that she was suffering from the ‘twisties’—a mental block that causes a gymnast to lose their spatial awareness when in the air. In 2015, a similar fear gripped Rebeca Andrade. But thankfully, she had her mother by her side.

It was Rosa’s conviction that saved her daughter from losing herself to fear after her ACL injury in 2015. Although it would happen again in 2017 and 2019, it was the first injury that was particularly difficult. Despite having undergone surgery and subsequent recovery, Andrade found herself unwilling to get back to training. That’s when her mother told her that she wasn’t going to let her give up just because she was afraid.

She said, “Your mother won’t let you stop because you’re afraid to try. You’ll go to the gym. You’ll try.” Rosa knew her daughter could fail, but it did not matter to her. She told her “If you don’t succeed, then it’s okay. You have your house to come back to. We will welcome you.” It is keeping the doors to that home open and pushing her daughter to her very best that has played a pivotal role in Rosa Santos’ gymnast daughter winning a total of six Olympic and nine World Championship medals.