By CNN
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Eight-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is unquestionably hard to beat but doing so is not impossible.
Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade could be Biles’ biggest competition in Thursday’s all-around finals – and has gone head-to-head with the American before. In Biles’ Netflix documentary, which premiered last month, the US star said that Andrade “scares” her the most out of all her competitors.
At the World Championships last year, Andrade took gold in the vault, while Biles took silver. This victory made Andrade the first athlete to surpass Biles on the vault in that competition since 2015. Andrade also won the world all-around gold medal in 2022.
But the Brazilian gymnast’s trajectory to success wasn’t smooth sailing. After dealing with what can be career-ending injuries to gymnasts (ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019) and going through three knee surgeries, she has shown grit in the face of adversity.
She became the first South American to step onto the all-around podium, earning a silver medal at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. She finished second to Team USA’s Sunisa Lee, but four days later, she won gold on vault over American MyKayla Skinner.
Andrade, a São Paulo native, grew up with seven siblings and started gymnastics training at age 5 after her aunt took her to training sessions at the gymnasium where she worked.
She comes from humble beginnings – her mother, Rosa, cleaned houses to support her family and to pay for Andrade’s training. In 2009, Andrade moved to Curitiba before taking her talents to Flamengo’s club in Rio just a year later. Now, she’s an Olympic and world champion, and perhaps a women’s individual all-around final winner in this summer’s Olympics.
One area where Andrade could potentially outshine Biles is on the uneven bars. While the American tends to execute well on the apparatus, performing a difficult routine, Andrade has a better swing and can outscore her with the judges.
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Meanwhile, the balance beam is a wild card: both gymnasts perform well, but Andrade would have to increase the difficulty in her routine to outperform Biles. This apparatus can make a difference between who wins gold and who wins silver.
On the floor routine, Biles’ difficulty gives her a significant advantage. Yet, considering that “artistry” is now counting as part of the score, Andrade’s fascinating dance skills can be her ace up the sleeve. Overall, Biles is favored on the floor unless Andrade upgrades her routine.
In the vault, Biles has the most difficult maneuver in women’s gymnastics, “the Biles II.” Yet, Andrade could perform her “secret vault,” the triple-twisting Yurchenko, which could get a vault named after her and take the competition to another height. Yet, as this is merely speculation, it’s hard to know whether she can pull off the move.
Regardless of who wins, one thing is for sure: Rebeca Andrade will fight for gold. In an interview, she made her message clear to her fans.
“They should wait for me to give 110%, regardless of what happens in the competition,” she said. “I will get there, give myself, body and soul, even with all the attention and expectations.”
