Three ACL injuries in four years couldn’t stop Rebeca Andrade. Not even the thought of competing against the GOAT Simone Biles on vault, with a blurry vision daunted her. She had of course overcome hurdles all her life to pursue her dream, even moving away from her family. Yet, there was a moment of uncertainty when she was preparing for the Rio Olympics, at 15.

Growing up in a family of eight children, supported by her mother, Andrade decided to move away from Guarulhos, the place of her birth to pursue her gymnastics dream. When she was ten, Andrade moved to Curitiba after her coach invited her to train at a high-performance center in the city. A year later, she was on the move again, heading to Rio.

Rebeca opened up about her journey in an interview after winning the floor gold medal, sharing her story on YouTube in “REBECA ANDRADE NO MAIS VOCÊ – ENTREVISTA COMPLETA.” She reflected on the obstacles she faced in the build-up to her Olympics debut in 2016 and how her mother, Rosa Rodrigues, whom she had to leave behind helped her overcome the challenge.

She admitted to making mistakes when she was starting out and said, “But my mom was there by my side, and for the first time, she said, ‘Mom won’t let you give up just because you’re scared to try.’ And that was exactly it—I was afraid of not being good enough, you know? I knew I had talent and everything, but since I was so young, the expectations from others were also a concern.”

“I was just a child, only 15 years old, so I was scared of not making my coach proud and not making the whole team proud, who were always there with us, sacrificing just like we did. My mom knew this, and she gave me the greatest support and came with me to the gym. And as soon as I stepped into the gym, I knew I would return because I love doing gymnastics—it’s my life.”

Rebeca Andrade’s journey toward her dreams started with a sports initiative funded by the city of Guarulhos called “Sports Initiation,” which offered scholarships to kids from underserved backgrounds. In Guarulhos, while coaching, Monica Barroso dos Anjos noticed her skills and assigned her to the category for competitive athletes, within 18 months.

Andrade’s impressive performance at the 2009 Junior Pan American Games caught the attention of the Paraná Center for Excellence in Gymnastics, leading to an offer that required relocating to Curitiba and being separated from her loved ones. However, Rebeca was determined to seize this opportunity—she didn’t want it to slip away.

Andrade embraced the opportunity and relocated to Curitiba, where her professional journey rapidly flourished. At just 11 years old, she became a member of Flamengo’s gymnastics team, one of Brazil’s premier clubs, dedicating her time to training and achieving success there.

At the 2016 Olympics, Rebeca Andrade made waves by helping Brazil finish fifth in the team finals and qualifying third for the all-around final with a score of 58.732. Despite a fall during the team finals and an eleventh-place finish in the all-around, Andrade’s performance showcased her talent.

A gold and silver medal followed in Tokyo before she won four medals in Paris, seeing off competition from Simone Biles to secure the top spot in the floor exercise.

Rebeca’s journey has not been without challenges. At times, she had to pause her training due to family issues. Growing up, Andrade’s mother often struggled to afford her bus fare to the gym. As a result, brothers would walk her two hours each way so she could continue training.

Her childhood challenges were not the end of her struggles, as she was finding her feet an ACL injury would derail her ambitions, but only temporarily.

Rebeca Andrade, endured three ACL tears in four years, from 2015 to 2019. Despite these setbacks, she made a remarkable comeback. After her first ACL injury, Rebeca competed at the 2016 Rio Olympics. Then in 2017, she again suffered an ACL tear during the World Championships and had to withdraw. She returned to the mat a year later.

But in 2019, Andrade was dealt another blow, when the ACL injury resurfaced during Brazil Nationals. But each time she was knocked down, she came back stronger.

In her interview, she also opened up about how her interest in gymnastics came about.

Climbing trees was the start of “mischievous” Andrade’s gymnastics journey

During the discussion, Rebeca, with a smile, shed light on how she began her gymnastics journey “I started when I was five years old. Very tiny. At first, it was just a game. I was always very mischievous, you know? I climbed trees, ran around, did cartwheels before even knowing what a cartwheel was. So, for me, the beginning was just play,” she said.

She then added how she realized it was her calling when she left her family to move to a different city. “It got serious when I needed to leave home. I was 10 years old, and my whole family stayed in Guarulhos while I went to Curitiba with two coaches and some athletes.”

All those sacrifices and efforts and hours of training would now seem worth it for Andrade after she became the most decorated Olympian in Brazil’s history. A haul of four medals ended with the GOAT Simone Biles bowing to her, in an image that will reverberate through history and Rebeca Andrade will always be at its center.