PARIS — The question before Rebeca Andrade was one of magnitude.
The Brazilian gymnast, already a national star, reached a new height Saturday when she won a silver medal on vault. It tied her with sailors Robert Scheidt and Torben Grael as the most decorated Brazilian Olympians. Then, Monday at Bercy Arena, she didn’t just break the tie. She won a gold medal on the floor exercise. She did it on the massive stage of these Paris Games. She earned it by beating the greatest ever in Simone Biles.
Advertisem*nt
This was a new stratosphere for Andrade, 25. How would she describe this new status of hers?
“I will always see myself as Rebeca,” she said through an interpreter. “I’ll go back home. I will continue taking care of my dogs. I will continue cooking for myself and doing business as usual. But I understand what it means to be a great athlete, to be famous in our country is also to serve as an incentive for other people. I know what it means. I know the responsibility it entails. But my focus is to continue being myself.”
Alright, Rebeca. That’s nice and humble and all. But you just won a gold medal in Paris. You just took down the best ever. This is different. This is a moment to flex a little bit. How would you describe yourself now?
- Follow our live coverage of the 2024 Paris Olympics
(Some liberties were taken with the translation of the follow-up question to Andrade.)
“I think a word to define myself is ‘uhhhhh,'” she said.
The word Andrade eventually settled on, the one she found after a quick measurement of her national significance, was grandona. It means “big lady” in Portuguese.
Simple but perfect. On this Sunday afternoon, on the 39-foot by 39-foot square floor, no one was bigger. Not even Biles.
Andrade’s routine wasn’t as ambitious as Biles‘. But, going first, she executed a near-flawless performance in what she said she hopes was her last floor exercise. Andrade landed every tumble. Executed every spin. Orchestrated a vibe with her rhythm. And she set a high bar for gold with a 14.166.
Biles came close, the sheer difficulty of her routine meant Andrade needed Biles to not be flawless. And the American megastar twice stepped out of bounds on landings. It was just enough of a deduction to keep Biles from gold: 14.133.
The grandona would not be surmounted.
This is the first time Andrade has beaten Biles at the Olympics, significant because Biles is perhaps the only reason Andrade isn’t mentioned among the greatest. It’s Biles’ world, and her massiveness tends to block the shine of other greats.
Advertisem*nt
But those who follow gymnastics know Andrade is the truth. Powerful and breathtaking in her own right. She consistently strings together elite performances on big stages. And she’s tough tough.
Here is some context to her golden performance on the floor Monday: Andrade has torn an ACL three times — in 2015, 2017 and 2019.
After years of finishing behind Simone Biles in international competition, Rebeca Andrade got her moment Monday at the Paris Olympics. (Jean Catuffe / Getty Images)
In 2020, she became a national star when she won gold in the individual vault after Biles dropped out. (Biles took the crown back from Andrade this year.) In 2023, she led Brazil to its first-ever team medal in the world championships. In Paris, she led Brazil to a bronze, its first Olympic team medal.
She has 15 medals in the Olympic and world championships. That included the all-around championship at the 2022 world championships, without Biles. She managed to beat Biles on the vault at the 2023 worlds, her only other victory over her rival.
The very things at which Andrade is dazzling always managed to bump against the Biles ceiling. Until Monday.
Andrade’s cheerful disposition makes her sound so unbothered by the monstrous presence of Biles. There’s something genuine about the ease of her praise for the legend and the satisfaction she declares from competition and pushing her limits. But assuredly, deep down, she wanted this one moment. On perhaps her last chance to get it, as the goat might call it quits after another dominant Olympics, Andrade bested Biles.
The value of the accomplishment was illustrated during the medal ceremony. With Biles to her right, and bronze medalist Jordan Chiles to her left, Andrade, stepped onto the podium. And if the elevation of the first-place portion of the platform wasn’t enough, Biles and Chiles bowed. It was a display of respect and appreciation for Andrade, and it underscored the grandeur of her finally cresting Mt. Simone.
Advertisem*nt
“It was very cute of them,” Andrade said. “They are the world’s best athletes. What they’ve done means a lot to me. I feel honored.”
The gesture certainly warmed the hearts of Brazilians. Two American legends prostrating before their queen of gymnastics, making themselves smaller in the moment to illustrate how big this was for Andrade.
Grandona, indeed.
GO DEEPERIf that was it for Simone Biles' Olympic career, let's all appreciate what we just saw(Top photo of Rebeca Andrade: Rodolfo Buhrer / Eurasia Sport Images / Getty Images)
Marcus Thompson II is a lead columnist at The Athletic. He is a prominent voice in the Bay Area sports scene after 18 years with Bay Area News Group, including 10 seasons covering the Warriors and four as a columnist. Marcus is also the author of the best-selling biography "GOLDEN: The Miraculous Rise of Steph Curry." Follow Marcus on Twitter @thompsonscribe
