Simone Biles is heading back to the Olympics, but she’s not the only one. Also returning? Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian gymnast who won her country its first two women’s-gymnastics Olympic medals in 2021 after Biles withdrew from several Tokyo events. Though Andrade and Biles have been competing against each other for over a decade, Andrade has just started hitting her stride careerwise while Biles took some much-needed time off for her mental health. Now that Biles is once again competing in peak form, they’re both vying for gold in Paris, and Andrade could give Biles a run for her money at a few key events. (Also, she wears incredible eye makeup.) They’re expected to face off in the vault finals — where Andrade will be defending her Olympic gold medal — and the all-around and floor events. (Biles excels most on floor events, followed by vault and beam, while Andrade’s strongest performances happen on vault.) Here’s everything to know about the woman going toe-to-toe with Simone Biles this summer.
Andrade and Biles both competed at the Olympics for the first time in 2016.
Andrade, who just turned 25, started her gymnastics career around the same time as 27-year-old Biles, and they both made their Olympics debut at the Rio Games in 2016. From there, Andrade took more of a slow climb. While Biles won a record-breaking four golds, Andrade failed to medal, finishing 11th. Her career was also hampered by three ACL tears — first in 2015, then 2017, then 2019, when, without her at the World Championships, Brazil failed to qualify a full team for the Tokyo Olympics.
Andrade won her first Olympic medal after Biles withdrew in Tokyo.
Andrade did manage to make it to Tokyo, where her star really started to rise. The competition’s postponement due to COVID gave her time to recover from her ACL surgery and qualify late for the Games’ all-around finals. After Biles withdrew, Andrade won silver in the all-around, coming within striking distance of Biles’s teammate Suni Lee, who narrowly beat her for gold.
During the vault final, Andrade whipped out a complicated move she had been practicing in secret that only a handful of female gymnasts — Biles included, of course — have pulled off. The flex won her a gold medal, making her the obvious competitor for Biles to beat when she returned to elite gymnastics two years later. It also made her the first Brazilian female gymnast to medal at an Olympic Games.
Biles secured her big return at World’s last year — with Andrade right behind her.
Last year, Biles continued her comeback tour, taking home her sixth all-around World Artistic Gymnastics gold medal in Antwerp. In second place was Andrade, who also finished right behind Biles on the floor routine and won bronze on beam. She managed to narrowly edge out Biles on the vault thanks to a small stumble and a half-point deduction Biles got because her coach was standing on the podium as a safety measure. World’s marked the first time at a major gymnastics championship that three Black women stood on the podium: Biles with gold, Andrade with silver, and American Shilese Jones with bronze.
Rebeca Andrade (Brazil) - Vault - 2023 World Gymnastics Championships - Women's Event Finals #ARTWorlds2023 pic.twitter.com/9WJngWliCZ
— Set Queen (@Yarotska101) October 7, 2023
Rebeca Andrade beat Simone Biles in Vault Final and she’s the NEW WORLD CHAMPION!! ????????????????#ARTWorlds2023 #antwerp2023 #italgym pic.twitter.com/ptrQlz3HAV
— ITANASTICS (@itanastics) October 7, 2023
Andrade is expected to pull out all the stops in Paris.
Ahead of Paris, there has been plenty of chatter about how Andrade plans to defend her vault title against Biles. Videos posted by the Brazilian Olympic Committee have shown her practicing a triple-twisting Yurchenko, a move that has never been completed by a female gymnast in international competition. If she pulls it off in Paris, it will be named after her in the official rule book — like the Yurchenko double pike Biles pulled off at last year’s World Championships, which is now known as the Biles II. To get really in the weeds, a triple-twisting Yurchenko may or may not help Andrade edge out Biles — it could get her 5.8 points, whereas the Biles II is worth 6.4. There are also rumors that Andrade may try a Cheng vault with an extra full twist, which would match Biles’s projected 6.4-point total.
Still, the competition is friendly.
Even if Biles and Andrade are neck and neck, they’re happy to be in this together. When asked about her feelings on Biles going into Paris, Andrade told AFP, “It’s about doing my best. And I hope she does too because it’s an honor to be able to compete alongside her.”
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