Bring on Brazil! Rebeca Andrade and Team Brazil Eyeing Gold

Bring On Brazil!

Rebeca Andrade. Jade Barbosa. Loranne Oliveira. Flavia Saraiva. Julia Soares.

Remember the names. You’re about to hear a lot about them. (Hint, watch the livestreams!)

To say we’re looking forward to watching Brazil in Paris would be the biggest understatement of the year. The Brazilian women, who took silver in Antwerp at the 2023 World Championships are now poised to make history once again at the Games. In Belgium, what struck us most beyond their incredible and dynamic gymnastics, was their passion for competition, their love for the sport, and the momentum they created as a team from the word go until they stood on the podium with medals around their necks. In the Mixed Zone following the team competition, they stayed well beyond their assigned time, speaking with every reporter, granting every interview, posing for every picture (selfies included!) and taking in every moment to celebrate.  It was the realization of a lifelong dream for all of them and now, as the Games are set to begin, Brazil is the top team contender facing the United States, who is favored for gold.

Led by 2022 World All-Around champion and 2023 All-Around runner up Andrade, who boasts the best Cheng in the business by our count (see it here!), Brazil was electric from beginning to end in Antwerp. Would this finally be the year they’d reach the world championships podium? Better believe it. In the final rotation, they went lights out on vault with Saraiva bringing back her Yurchenko double twist, veteran Barbosa going a tenth higher with hers, and Andrade nearly sticking that Cheng to make Brazil’s historic moment official. Their passion never wavered and now they’re headed to the 2024 Olympic Games as World silver medalists and favored for a medal. 

With their names already etched in the history books, Brazil is hungry for more. They’ve never won a team medal in gymnastics at the Olympics and stars aligned, Paris should be their time. Silver would be beautiful, but this team is eyeing gold. It’s their camaraderie and belief in themselves that matters most and could elevate them to second again, or even one step higher. Afterall, it’s the Olympics and as we’ve seen, anything is possible. 

Barbosa won her very first World medal 16 years ago. At the age of 32, she has not only overcome a great deal of adversity through the years, but she has watched the sport evolve right before her eyes. As she stood next to her team taking in history, the emotions were hard to contain. “We, as a team, believed for many years in this result,” Barbosa said. “I get really emotional, because when I started many years ago, people didn’t know the names of the elements. Now they know about the code, the names, and even things that we don’t know ourselves!” 

Through the highs and the lows, what is undoubtedly Brazil’s greatest generation of female gymnasts ever have become closer than ever. After Andrade grabbed the silver behind Simone Biles in the All-Around final, she was quick to credit the performance of her teammate Flavia Saraiva. 

“It’s not just about me,” Andrade said. “We are a team, we work together all the time. I won the medal but she was there with me … so it’s not just my medal, it’s our medal.” Andrade left Antwerp as one of the most decorated athletes of the entire World Championships – tied of course with none other than Simone Biles. The duo stood on the medal podium together five times when all was said and done. “I’m really happy about everything that happened this year,” Andrade said. “It was a difficult competition because it took a lot mentally and physically, but I’m really honored that I could compete in all these finals and take these medals.” 

It was a dream come to fruition for Saraiva as well. In Liverpool in 2022 she was limited due to an injury sustained in the Qualification round. In Antwerp, she was back with that radiant smile we remember all the way back to Rio in 2016 and better than ever on the competition floor. For the first time in career, she grabbed a World individual medal with a bronze on floor. “I am feeling really happy,” Saraiva said. “A lot of times I got into the floor final but I didn’t do my best routine and sometimes I was injured. This is my first individual World Championship medal! Every time you get a good result, you want more!” There is certainly much more to be achieved for Team Brazil. With a team ticket to the Paris 2024 Olympics now in their hands, expect the reigning World silver medalists to be fighting for gold in Paris!