Rebeca Andrade made history this week at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the first female Brazilian gymnast in the competition’s history to win a medal.
The 22-year-old, who was awarded the silver medal in the all-around competition, said she was happy with her performance, ESPN reported.
“I hoped for this moment, and I have trained and worked super hard for this moment. I don’t have any words to describe how I am feeling, nor the feeling of having the Olympic silver medal around my neck,” Andrade said.
This is a huge win for Brazil and for the gymnast, who traveled to Tokyo without her team, which hasn’t qualified for the last four Olympic tournaments, USA Today reported.
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Andrade’s faced quite a few obstacles on the path to her recent victory.
In 2019, Andrade tore her anterior cruciate knee ligament for a third time in a four-year span. As a result, she could not participate in three World Championships.
She would go on to face further hurdles. In March 2020, she arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, to participate in a gymnastics competition where she qualified and finished in second place on beam and third place on bars, however she couldn’t compete because the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, Reuters reported.
Later that year, she tested positive for COVID-19 and had to withdraw from a meet in Portugal, which would’ve helped her and other athletes prepare to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this year, the gymnast worked with a sports psychologist who helped her to stay focused on her goal of making it to the Olympics.
In June, Andrade was uncertain if she would have to pass up another opportunity to compete in the games and was given one final shot to earn a spot in the Olympics, ESPN reported.
She was informed that the top two finishers at the Pan American Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, would be awarded the two final spots in Tokyo.
Andrade reigned victorious over the competition and when she qualified, she was in second place behind Simone Biles.
Source: 22-Year-Old Rebeca Andrade Makes History As First Woman Gymnast From Brazil To Win An Olympic Medal
