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Who is Rebeca Andrade? Star becomes first woman gymnast to win Olympic medal for Brazil

Andrade lost the gold to Sunisa Lee of the US, but fans hailed her historic achievement

While all of the US was rooting for Suni Lee and Jade Carey to bring home the winning titles, only the former won. Her score of 57.433 beat Brazil's Rebeca Andrade's 57.298 while Russia's Angelina Melnikova took the bronze. And while it got thousands of Carey's fans upset, Andrade's journey so far has been quite impressive. 

Brazil’s gymnast Andrade received a 15.300 for a sky-high Cheng vault that she landed with one foot on the line marking the out of bounds section of the mat. This got her all-around final off to a stellar start and applause in the stadium and online. Twitter burst into celebration as Brazil took home the silver and Andrade won the accolade. "Crying for Suni Lee and Rebecca Andrade!!!" one user celebrated the victories of the two women. 

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"So proud and impressed by the talent and sportsmanship demonstrated by suni lee, rebecca andrade, and angelina melinkova today, as well as all the others that beautifully proved themselves in all around #Olympics," another user commented. 

Lee's victory also called for many fans of her to recognise Andrade's hard work. "While I am rooting for @sunisalee_ with all my soul it's pretty amazing to watch Rebecca Andrade. She's there solo from Brazil and stands to make history for her country," one user wrote. 

Fans of Andrade did not waste time in congratulating her. "Also, Rebecca Andrade!! Earning that silver medal, a first for Brazil in women’s artistic gymnastics! (Been watching her for years so this is so exciting to see!)," one fan of her wrote on Twitter. "REBECCA ANDRADE FIRST BRAZILIAN OLYMPIC MEDALIST IN WOMEN’S GYMNASTICS HISTORY," another celebrated. 

Who is Rebecca Andrade?

"Rebecca Andrade coming back from three (!!!) ACL tears to win silver is so incredible. I hate that she suffered through that pain but what an amazing accomplishment for her and Brazil," one user wrote.

Born 8 May 1999, Rebeca Rodrigues de Andrade is a Brazilian artistic gymnast who, before winning the silver medal at 2020 Tokyo Summer Olympics, represented Brazil at the 2016 Summer Olympics. 

As per Federation Internationale De Gymnastique, Andrade began gymnastics when she was four years old after her aunt took her to the gym where she worked. "I was always active when I was a small child. So, my aunt took me to a gym where she worked and I began to do gymnastics," she had once reportedly said. 

It was one of her ambitions to compete at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo, especially after multiple injuries to her ACL (anterior cruciate ligament). In October 2017 she injured the ACL in her right knee and ended up being ruled out of the 2017 World Championships in Montreal, QC, Canada. In 2019 she injured the ACL of her right knee during the Brazilian trials for the 2019 Pan American Games in Lima, Peru. This led to surgery and Andrade was out of competition until March 2020. 

"And Rebecca Andrade winning the first medal in gymnastics for Brazil!! What a stunning performance!!! #Olympics," one user celebrated her win. Another user wrote, "Rebecca Andrade is doing absolutely stunning gymnastics!"