Rebeca Andrade’s journey in gymnastics has been a dramatic yet inspiring one! Starting from her early days in São Paulo to her meteoric rise to being an Olympic medalist, Andrade’s story is one of unbound resilience. But how did she get here? And what drives her? All the answers lie in her incredible story.

Rebeca once remarked, “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.” And no doubt, despite her string of injuries, she came back stronger than ever at the Paris Olympics in 2024. She came, she saw, and she took her second Olympic gold. But as easy as Rebeca makes it look, her journey has not been all that easy.

Rebeca says she “Never Imagined” her Olympic wins

Did you know Rebeca Andrade holds six Olympic medals? She is no stranger to the iconic Olympic podium, but rather a patron of it. In 2024 alone, she won 4 medals. She won a gold in Floor Exercise, and a silver in Individual All-Around and Vault. But that’s not all! Rebeca topped it all off with a bronze in Team All-Around. She recently playfully remarked, “I don’t know all six together. Almost 3 kg for all four (2024 Olympic medals), that’s it.”

But that’s not all Rebeca spoke about! As the candid conversation continued, she said, “I never imagined it, it never crossed my mind.” She, however, went on to add, “It was something I wanted, of course, to be an Olympic medalist, to be a World medalist, but I didn’t imagine it would be so big.” She went on to talk more about the man behind her success and growth.

It was under the tutelage of Coach Francisco Porath, or the beloved “chico,” that Rebeca won 6 Olympic medals: the 2023 Pan American Championships, the 2021 World Championships, and the World Cup Series, among others. She further shared, “I’m the one who’s the best, as soon as I finished the competition. I sent a message to Chico, ‘Thank you for once again putting me in the Olympics, preparing me, so that I could be a medalist.‘”

But that’s not all! Rebeca went on to say, “He also responded by saying that he had never imagined that we would achieve so many things.” Andrade’s bond with Chico goes beyond the stack of medals! He is almost like a father figure in her life. “He’s my coach, who’s been with me since I was 7 years old. And now I’m 25. I have Chico as my father,” she added. Their relationship has been crucial to Rebeca’s journey.

Rebeca’s rollercoaster journey of unfortunate injuries

Rebeca’s path has been riddled with challenges. Her career was challenged multiple times by a series of ACL injuries. Her first unexpected blow came in 2015, which caused her to drop the World Championships that year. But Andrade’s spirit did not falter! She returned in 2016, helping Brazil secure an Olympic qualification. Just when she started to recover, struggle struck yet again!

She experienced yet another ACL injury in 2017 at the World Championships in Montreal. This was followed by a third ACL injury in 2019 during the Brazilian Nationals. But as Rebeca herself put it, she only “wanted to win even more” post-injury. She went on a rehabilitation journey, never giving up. “The hardest part is when you have to go back to 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 said.

Despite the series of setbacks, Rebecca made one of the best comebacks the gymnastic world has seen. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she vaulted her way into the history books! She won gold in Vault and silver in individual all-around. Thus becoming the first female Brazilian gymnast to win an Olympic medal. Her list of laurels continued to grow at the World Championships, where she won gold in 2021, 2022, and 2023. As her trajectory tells us, Rebeca’s journey is far from over, and the world patiently awaits.