RIO DE JANEIRO, BRAZIL – Rebeca Andrade will be the Brazilian flag bearer at the closing ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics. The star gymnast will stay in the Japanese capital until the end of the event and will not return to Brazil with the rest of the artistic gymnastics team on Wednesday. Her coach, Francisco Porath, will also remain in Japan.
The 22-year-old Rebeca charmed Brazil by winning gold in the vault and silver in the general individual competition at the Tokyo Olympics. The charismatic gymnast also competed on the floor exercises, once again musically accompanied by Brazilian “Baile de Favela”, but finished only fifth.
Rebeca was the first Brazilian athlete to win two medals at the Olympic Games ; they are also the first two medals in the history of women’s gymnastics at this competition.
Rebeca was born in Guarulhos, the second-largest city in the state of São Paulo, which it borders. She began playing sports at the age of nine and in order to train, depended on the sacrifices of her mother, Dona Rosa, who took care of eight other children in a simple one-room house. During her career, she suffered three serious knee injuries.