Brazil's Rebeca Andrade has proven a force to be reckoned with during the Paris Olympics 2024, taking home four medals, including the gold in the floor final -- beating out the incomparable Simone Biles, who medaled silver.
But who is this gymnast who has been a sight to see during the Olympics?
Andrade finished in first on Monday and took home the floor final with a score of 14.166 -- this win comes after her winning silver in the all-around and vault, and bronze in the team event with Brazil during the Paris Olympics.
Although the 25-year-old has been strong contender throughout the 2024 Olympics, she participated in the 2016 Olympics when they were held in her native Brazil. She was also the flag bearer for Brazil at the closing ceremony at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo where she won silver in the individual all-around (behind Team USA's Suni Lee) and gold in vault -- becoming the first female gymnast representing Brazil to medal, according to the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique (International Federation of Gymnastics), the governing body for gymnastics worldwide.
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Andrade is known for her determination, which has resulted in winning a number of medals and World Championships while overcoming three ACL injuries.
She first suffered an ACL injury in 2015 requiring reconstructive surgery, which forced her to miss the World Championships that year. Although she bounced back the following year to help her country secure an Olympic qualification spot, she suffered a second ACL injury in 2017 and had to undergo another surgery, which forced her to withdraw from competition at the World Championships where she was seen as a top contender.
Andrade returned to the world of competitions in 2018 while still recovering. She suffered yet another ACL injury in 2019 to the same knee during a floor routine during the Brazilian Nationals, which required yet another reconstructive surgery.
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Andrade was born in Guarulhos, Brazil, in 1999 and took up the sport at 4 years old, according to the Federation Internationale de Gymnastique. She trains twice a day and cites her mom as the most influential person in her career, while considering Brazilian gymnast Daiane dos Santos her hero, according to the federation's website.
She is also known as "Rebeyonce" in Brazil for her love of Beyoncé. The nickname came about when she performed her floor routine at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio to Beyoncé songs.
