Rebeca Andrade facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Rebeca Andrade
Andrade at the 2023 Artistic Gymnastics World Cup in Paris
Personal information
Full name	Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade
Nickname(s)	"Rebe"
Born	(1999-05-08) 8 May 1999 (age 26) Guarulhos, São Paulo, Brazil
Height	151 cm (4 ft 11 in)
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Level	Senior International Elite
Years on national team	2012–present (BRA)
Club	Clube de Regatas do Flamengo
Head coach(es)	Francisco Porath
Former coach(es)	Keli Tiemi Kitaura, Alexander Alexandrov, Valery Liukin
Music	2013: "Sway" 2014–2016: "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies" 2019–2022: "Toccata and Fugue in D minor, BWV 565" and "Baile de Favela" 2023–present: "End of Time", "Movimento da Sanfoninha" and "Baile de Favela"
Medal record Representing  Brazil Women's artistic gymnastics Event 1st 2nd 3rd Olympic Games 2 3 1 World Championships 3 4 2 Pan American Games 2 2 0 Pan American Championships 4 2 0 Olympic Games Gold 2020 Tokyo Vault Gold 2024 Paris Floor exercise Silver 2020 Tokyo All-around Silver 2024 Paris All-around Silver 2024 Paris Vault Bronze 2024 Paris Team World Championships Gold 2021 Kitakyushu Vault Gold 2022 Liverpool All-around Gold 2023 Antwerp Vault Silver 2021 Kitakyushu Uneven bars Silver 2023 Antwerp All-around Silver 2023 Antwerp Floor exercise Silver 2023 Antwerp Team Bronze 2022 Liverpool Floor exercise Bronze 2023 Antwerp Balance beam Pan American Games Gold 2023 Santiago Vault Gold 2023 Santiago Balance beam Silver 2023 Santiago Team Silver 2023 Santiago Uneven bars Pan American Championships Gold 2021 Rio de Janeiro Team Gold 2021 Rio de Janeiro All-around Gold 2022 Rio de Janeiro Team Gold 2022 Rio de Janeiro Uneven bars Silver 2018 Lima Team Silver 2022 Rio de Janeiro Balance beam FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd World Cup 3 1 1 World Challenge Cup 3 7 2

Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade (born May 8, 1999) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast. She is known for her powerful performances and has won many medals. Rebeca is the most decorated Brazilian and Latin American gymnast ever. She has won six Olympic medals and nine World Championship medals. This also makes her the most decorated Brazilian Olympian in any sport!

Rebeca has achieved amazing things in gymnastics. She was the 2022 World champion in the all-around competition. She also won silver medals in the all-around at the 2020 and 2024 Olympic Games. On the vault, she won gold at the 2020 Olympics and silver at the 2024 Olympics. She is also a two-time World Champion on vault. In the floor exercise, she won gold at the 2024 Olympics.

Rebeca also helped the Brazilian team win their first team medals. They won silver at the 2023 World Championships and bronze at the 2024 Olympics. She is one of only 11 female gymnasts in history to win medals on every event at the World Championships.

Early Life and Gymnastics Start

Rebeca Andrade was born on May 8, 1999, in Guarulhos, Brazil. She is one of eight children. Her mother, Rosa, worked hard cleaning houses to pay for Rebeca's gymnastics training. Rebeca started gymnastics when she was four years old. Her aunt, who worked at a gym, took her there.

When Rebeca was nine, she moved to Curitiba to train. A year later, she moved to Rio de Janeiro to train at Flamengo. Rebeca speaks both Portuguese and English. She is also Afro-Brazilian.

Junior Gymnastics Career

Starting Strong in 2012

Rebeca first competed internationally when she was thirteen. This was at the Junior Pan American Championships. She helped Brazil win a silver medal as a team. Individually, she won gold medals in the all-around, vault, and floor exercise. She also won a bronze medal on the balance beam.

Later that year, she won gold with the Brazilian team at the Junior South American Championships. She also won the individual all-around gold there. Rebeca also won the all-around title at the Brazil Trophy, beating older, experienced gymnasts.

Continuing Success in 2013

Rebeca kept doing well in 2013. She started her season at the Nadia Comăneci Invitational in Oklahoma City, where she won the junior all-around gold. In August, her team won gold at the Junior South American Championships. Rebeca won a bronze medal in the all-around. She also won gold on vault and uneven bars, and silver on balance beam.

In November, she competed at the Gymnasiade in Brasília. The Brazilian team won silver, and Rebeca won bronze in the all-around. She also won gold on vault in the event finals.

Junior Highlights of 2014

In February 2014, Rebeca competed at the WOGA Classic in Texas. She won gold in the all-around, vault, and uneven bars. She also won silver with her team, on balance beam, and floor exercise. She then competed at the Junior Pan American Championships. Here, her team won silver. Rebeca won silver in the all-around and floor exercise. She also won gold on vault, uneven bars, and balance beam.

Rebeca was supposed to go to the 2014 Summer Youth Olympics. But she had to withdraw because of a broken toe. She did not compete for the rest of 2014.

Senior Gymnastics Career

First Senior Competitions in 2015

Rebeca became old enough to compete as a senior in 2015. She came back from her toe injury at the Ljubljana World Cup. She won a bronze medal on the uneven bars. At the São Paulo World Cup, she won silver on vault.

However, in June, Rebeca had a serious injury. She tore her ACL (a ligament in her knee). This meant she missed important competitions like the Pan American Games and the World Championships.

Returning to Competition in 2016

Rebeca came back to gymnastics in 2016 after her ACL injury. She helped the Brazilian team win silver at the City of Jesolo Trophy. She also won silver on uneven bars at the Doha World Cup.

She was chosen for the 2016 Olympic Test Event. This event helped Brazil qualify a full team for the 2016 Summer Olympics. Rebeca performed very well and helped her team win gold. She also won a bronze medal on the uneven bars. She then won more medals at other World Cups. In June, she was officially named to the Brazilian Olympic team.

Team Brazil at the Olympic Test Event

Uneven bars podium at the Olympic Test Event

Andrade in 2016 at the Olympic Games

At the 2016 Olympics, Rebeca helped Brazil reach the team finals. She also qualified for the all-around final in third place. In the team final, Brazil finished eighth. In the individual all-around, Rebeca finished eleventh.

Challenges and Comebacks (2017-2020)

In 2017, Rebeca won three World Cup medals. She won gold on vault at the Koper Challenge Cup and gold on both vault and uneven bars at the Varna Challenge Cup. However, she injured her ankle in May. Then, she tore her ACL for a second time during warmups at the World Championships. This meant she had to withdraw from the competition.

Andrade on the balance beam at the 2018 World Championships.

Rebeca returned in September 2018 at the Pan American Championships. She helped Brazil win a team silver medal. She then made her World Championships debut at the 2018 World Championships. Brazil finished seventh in the team final. After the World Championships, Rebeca won gold medals on vault and balance beam at the Cottbus World Cup.

In 2019, Rebeca helped Brazil win team gold at the DTB Team Challenge. She also won the all-around gold there. But then, she tore her ACL for the third time. This injury ended her 2019 season and made her miss the 2019 World Championships. Without her, the Brazilian team did not qualify for the 2020 Olympic Games.

Her comeback in 2020 was affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. She competed at the Baku World Cup, but the finals were canceled. She later tested positive for COVID-19 but had no symptoms.

Olympic and World Success in 2021

Rebeca had an amazing year in 2021, winning her first Olympic and World medals. She competed at the Pan American Championships. Here, she won gold with the Brazilian team. She also won gold in the all-around, which earned her a spot at the 2020 Olympic Games.

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics (held in 2021), Rebeca qualified for the vault, floor, and all-around finals. She won a silver medal in the all-around, making history as the first female Brazilian gymnast to win an Olympic medal. She then won the gold medal in the vault final, becoming Brazil's first Olympic champion in women's artistic gymnastics. In the floor final, she placed fifth. Rebeca was chosen to be the flag bearer for Brazil at the closing ceremony.

After the Olympics, Rebeca continued her success at the World Championships. She won gold on vault and silver on uneven bars. She became the first Brazilian gymnast to win a World medal on the uneven bars.

World Champion in 2022

Rebeca started 2022 by winning gold on uneven bars and silver on balance beam at the Trophy Brazil. In July, she helped Brazil win gold at the Pan American Championships. This was Brazil's first team victory over the United States at this competition since 1997.

In October, Rebeca competed at the World Championships in Liverpool. She qualified for the all-around, floor, and uneven bars finals. In the all-around final, Rebeca won the gold medal! She became the first South American gymnast to win a World all-around title. She also won a bronze medal in the floor exercise final.

More Medals in 2023

In 2023, Rebeca competed at the Brazilian national championships, winning gold on uneven bars and balance beam. At the World Championships in Antwerp, Rebeca and the Brazilian team won a historic silver medal. This was Brazil's first team medal at a World Championships.

In the all-around final, Rebeca won silver. She then won gold on vault and bronze on balance beam. She also won silver on floor exercise. By winning a medal on balance beam, Rebeca became one of only eleven gymnasts to win a World Championships medal on every single event.

Rebeca finished 2023 at the Pan American Games in Santiago. She helped Brazil win silver as a team. She won gold on vault and balance beam, and silver on uneven bars.

Olympic Glory in 2024

Andrade winning the silver medal in the all-around at the 2024 Olympics

Rebeca started her 2024 Olympic year by winning silver on uneven bars at the Antalya World Challenge Cup. At the 2024 Paris Olympics, Rebeca and the Brazilian team won the bronze medal in the team all-around final. This was the first team medal for Brazil in gymnastics at the Olympics.

She also won a silver medal in the individual all-around final. On the first day of event finals, Rebeca won silver on vault. Then, on the third day, she won gold on floor exercise! This made her the first Brazilian Olympic floor champion ever. During the floor final medal ceremony, other gymnasts like Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles bowed to Rebeca, a moment that became very popular online. With six Olympic medals, Rebeca is now the most decorated Brazilian Olympian in any sport.

Personal Life

Rebeca became very famous in Brazil after her success at the 2020 Summer Olympic Games. In October 2021, she was on the cover of Vogue Brasil magazine. She also won the Brazil Olympic Prize multiple times, being recognized as the best Brazilian female athlete of the year.

Rebeca has worked with a psychologist named Aline Wolff since she was 13. She even wants to study psychology herself one day. Rebeca has had three surgeries on her right knee to fix ACL tears. Her main idol in gymnastics is the Brazilian world champion Daiane dos Santos.

Awards

In December 2024, Rebeca Andrade was included on the BBC's 100 Women list.

Images for kids

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  Andrade performing her uneven bars dismount at the 2016 Olympic Games.

See also

In Spanish: Rebeca Andrade para niños