CNN
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Eight-time Olympic medalist Simone Biles is definitely exhausting to beat however doing so isn’t not possible.
Brazilian gymnast Rebeca Andrade might be Biles’ greatest competitors in Thursday’s all-around finals – and has gone head-to-head with the American earlier than. In Biles’ Netflix documentary, which premiered final month, the US star stated that Andrade “scares” her essentially the most out of all her rivals.
On the World Championships final 12 months, Andrade took gold within the vault, whereas Biles took silver. This victory made Andrade the primary athlete to surpass Biles on the vault in that competitors since 2015. Andrade additionally received the world all-around gold medal in 2022.
However the Brazilian gymnast’s trajectory to success wasn’t easy crusing. After coping with what may be career-ending accidents to gymnasts (ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019) and going via three knee surgical procedures, she has proven grit within the face of adversity.
She grew to become the primary South American to step onto the all-around podium, incomes a silver medal on the 2020 Olympic Video games in Tokyo. She completed second to Workforce USA’s Sunisa Lee, however 4 days later, she received gold on vault over American MyKayla Skinner.
Andrade, a São Paulo native, grew up with seven siblings and began gymnastics coaching at age 5 after her aunt took her to coaching classes on the gymnasium the place she labored.
She comes from humble beginnings – her mom, Rosa, cleaned homes to help her household and to pay for Andrade’s coaching. In 2009, Andrade moved to Curitiba earlier than taking her skills to Flamengo’s membership in Rio only a 12 months later. Now, she’s an Olympic and world champion, and maybe a girls’s particular person all-around last winner on this summer season’s Olympics.
One space the place Andrade may doubtlessly outshine Biles is on the uneven bars. Whereas the American tends to execute properly on the equipment, performing a troublesome routine, Andrade has a greater swing and might outscore her with the judges.
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In the meantime, the steadiness beam is a wild card: each gymnasts carry out properly, however Andrade must enhance the issue in her routine to outperform Biles. This equipment could make a distinction between who wins gold and who wins silver.
On the ground routine, Biles’ issue provides her a big benefit. But, contemplating that “artistry” is now counting as a part of the rating, Andrade’s fascinating dance expertise may be her ace up the sleeve. General, Biles is favored on the ground except Andrade upgrades her routine.
Within the vault, Biles has essentially the most troublesome maneuver in girls’s gymnastics, “the Biles II.” But, Andrade may carry out her “secret vault,” the triple-twisting Yurchenko, which may get a vault named after her and take the competitors to a different top. But, as that is merely hypothesis, it’s exhausting to know whether or not she will pull off the transfer.
No matter who wins, one factor is for positive: Rebeca Andrade will struggle for gold. In an interview, she made her message clear to her followers.
“They need to watch for me to provide 110%, no matter what occurs within the competitors,” she stated. “I’ll get there, give myself, physique and soul, even with all the eye and expectations.”