Rebeca Andrade and Simone Biles are just like the rest of us. You might be asking yourself why we say this, but soon enough, you’ll get the picture. At the Paris Olympics 2024, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade showed she’s a force to be reckoned with, bagging four medals and clinching gold in the floor exercise, outshining the legendary Simone Biles, who settled for silver. But the story doesn’t end with Paris. Recently, on the 24th, Andrade was in Sao Paulo at Parque Villa Lobos for a special Adidas event, proving she’s not resting on her laurels and continues to make waves off the gymnastics floor!

The brand celebrated the gymnasts by hosting a special event where Rebeca Andrade led a gymnastics class for children from the Brasileirinhos IV project. It represents the Aricanduva and Paraisopolis neighborhoods in Sao Paulo. Supported by the out-of-home company Neooh, the event was open to the public and featured influential figures from Andrade’s gymnastics journey, including Francisco Porath Neto. However, it was Andrade’s post-event speech that truly captured attention, evoking memories of Simone Biles’ inspiring address at the 2014 event.

During her post-event speech, Rebeca Andrade was wearing a black Adidas t-shirt with stripes on the sleeves when a bee suddenly appeared near her neck on the shirt. A reporter noticed the bee and quickly alerted her. Andrade froze and let out a startled shout, and someone promptly removed the insect. The incident was captured on video and shared on X by the page “Acervo Rebeca Andrade e Simone Biles,” alongside a similar video featuring Simone Biles in a comparable situation.

Back at the 2014 World Championships, Biles was celebrating her victories on the podium with a glittering gold medal around her neck on the grand stage when an unexpected guest made an appearance—a bee. The insect had landed on her bouquet, unnoticed by Biles. Then, Larisa Andreea Iordache, the silver medalist, pointed out the bee to Biles. As soon as Biles realized what was happening, she went into a state of panic, her composure momentarily shattered.

The sight of the bee buzzing near her caused her to freeze and let out a startled shout. She even threw the bouquet away and then picked it up. The commotion drew laughter from the crowd as someone quickly intervened to remove the bee from the scene. It seems that both Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade have an unexpected “bee” in common as a minor adversary. But despite their fierce rivalry, they have one more thing in common!

Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade make history as black women

Rebeca Andrade and Simone Biles made history at the Paris Olympics. They achieved a milestone as the first three black gymnasts to sweep the top three spots in the floor exercise final, alongside Jordan Chiles. This historic feat follows their landmark performance at last year’s World Championships, where Biles and Andrade, along with Shilese Jones, shared the podium in the individual all-around competition.

The final event at Bercy Arena was charged with emotion. Andrade, who earned gold, triumphed over poverty and multiple ACL injuries to become her country’s most decorated Olympic athlete in the U.S. with six medals. Biles, securing silver, continued to build her legendary status with her 11th Olympic medal—the highest total ever achieved by a U.S. gymnast. Their dynamic not only brings an electric energy to the sport but also inspires fans and fellow athletes alike, showcasing that even in competition, they bring out the best in each other.