Rebeca Andrade achieved, this Thursday (3), a historic result for artistic gymnastics in Brazil. The 23-year-old athlete from São Paulo won the all-around final of the World Championship, in Liverpool, England, and became the first person in the country to win the gold medal in this dispute. Brazilians had already triumphed in decisions by apparatus in six opportunities at the World Championship, one of them with Rebeca herself, in the jump, in Kitakyushu, Japan, in 2021. But the best result in the all-around category had been the bronze medal for Jade Barbosa in Stuttgart, Germany, in 2007.
This time, Rebeca arrived as a favorite and was introduced as the star of the competition. She didn't have the competition of Simone Biles, the greatest gymnast in history, nor that of the one who got the gold in the all-around individual at the 2021 Tokyo Olympics, Sunisa Lee. The two Americans are currently away from the sport for mental health reasons, and the path was free for the Brazilian, who got the silver in the all-around in Tokyo, to confirm that she is the best gymnast today.
She tried to handle this pressure naturally. "I think this is good because it shows the potential that Brazil has. It's okay that my photo is there, but people keep an eye on our entire team. We always had the potential to show the talent that we have," she said.
Translated by Cassy Dias