By Elena Rodriguez
PARIS (Reuters) – Gymnast Rebeca Andrade became Brazil’s most decorated Olympian in history at the Paris Games, but it certainly did not come easy.
The 25-year-old helped her country win their first Olympic team medal, a bronze, and she added individual silvers in all-around and vault and a gold medal on the floor exercise ahead of favourite Simone Biles.
“I really wanted a gold medal. I was really fighting hard to make it happen,” Andrade told reporters on Wednesday.
“I really wanted to make the Brazilian national anthem play once again at an Olympics. I was very proud of myself, it wasn’t an easy Olympics.”
After edging out Biles on floor by a razor thin margin, Biles and her teammate Jordan Chiles bowed to Andrade while on the medal podium, a moment the Brazilian holds dear.
“The most important part (of the competition) is the support we give each other, how much we want the other person to do well and grow and take centre stage. And that was sensational, it felt great,” she said.
Andrade, Biles and Chiles made up the first all-Black female podium in Olympic gymnastics history, bringing a sense of pride to the athletes.
“Being a Black woman in Brazil is something that I’m very proud of, and I think people are proud of that too no matter what my results are.
“I’ve never had a bad time in sport regarding my colour, but my brothers have gone through it, and I think that hurts even more than if it had happened to me.”
The six-times Olympic medallist credits her strong family bond for moulding her into the gymnast and person she has become.
“I have my entire family as my greatest reference point in life, as a human being and for everything I am today,” she said. “So that’s it. You’ve got to raise the bar and be there and people will see that we are there.”
Andrade is pleased that more funding and support have been going toward athletes in Brazil.
“I’m very happy that more people are being helped,” she said. “They will be able to show their capacity within their sports and will continue to illuminate our lives, our televisions and yours too.”
(Writing by Karen Braun in Paris, editing by Ed Osmond)
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