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After Confronting Simone Biles Head On, Rebeca Andrade Pens Emotional Note on Unsure Gymnastics Future: “Everything Would End”

August 5, Paris: Women’s artistic gymnastics floor finals. Rebeca Andrade was ‘close’. Yes, she was. Not only to the gold medal but also to Simone Biles. So much so that even the GOAT herself could not conceal her worry. While waiting for the score after performing, Simone was heard saying on camera, “I think she got that one. I think Rebeca got this one,” while also adding, “Oh, I’m scared.” Correct she was.

Scoring 14.166, Rebeca snatched the gold, bringing her Olympic medal count to 6, as she narrowly edged out Simone, who stood at 14.133. This was not Rebeca’s first Olympic gold. But this was extra special. Was this only because she added one more to the kitty? Probably not.

Rebeca earned this gold toppling the GOAT, and simultaneously, it was on the Olympic stage. Yes, she did win the vault gold in the Tokyo Olympics. But Simone had already withdrawn from that competition. The 2023 World Championships was one more reminder when she again got the vault gold, this time toppling Simone. But the Olympics are different. In Paris, Rebeca reestablished the fact that she can win on the highest stage even when Simone is competing. So Simone rightfully talked of passing the baton to Rebeca to “have the next.”

But a few months ahead of this triumph, Rebeca was not even in the frame of mind to hold the baton, forget carrying it forward. Revealing those dwindling moments, Rebeca took to her Instagram, penning down a long and touching pos

Scoring 14.166, Rebeca snatched the gold, bringing her Olympic medal count to 6, as she narrowly edged out Simone, who stood at 14.133. This was not Rebeca’s first Olympic gold. But this was extra special. Was this only because she added one more to the kitty? Probably not.

Rebeca earned this gold toppling the GOAT, and simultaneously, it was on the Olympic stage. Yes, she did win the vault gold in the Tokyo Olympics. But Simone had already withdrawn from that competition. The 2023 World Championships was one more reminder when she again got the vault gold, this time toppling Simone. But the Olympics are different. In Paris, Rebeca reestablished the fact that she can win on the highest stage even when Simone is competing. So Simone rightfully talked of passing the baton to Rebeca to “have the next.”

Back in March 2024, she was feeling weighed down by criticism and uncertainty. Out of that, she wrote a farewell letter to gymnastics on her phone, convinced that Paris would mark the end of her Olympic journey. “I was sure that this would be my last Olympic cycle; everything would end after Paris,” Rebeca revealed to have written.

The gymnast talked about how harsh words got to her: “Because of a proposal, I was called ungrateful and selfish. Because of a word taken out of context in an interview, they mocked me and said I was in the wrong country, and those things hurt me.” But, instead of letting the negativity win, she found strength in the support around her. “Because of a hug, I didn’t give up. Because of a conversation, I evolved.”