On Monday (5), São Paulo native Rebeca Andrade won the gold medal in the floor exercise, reaching her fourth podium at the Paris Olympics. It was her sixth Olympic medal, and she became the most decorated Brazilian athlete in the history of the event.
Rebeca scored 14.166 in her performance, beating favorite Simone Biles. The American – who, earlier, was out of the balance beam podium, like the Brazilian – scored 14.133, suffering two penalties for stepping off the competition stage. Even so, she won the silver medal. The podium was completed by Jordan Chiles, also from the United States, with 13.766.
The Brazilian was the second to perform, to the sound of a combination of the songs “End of Time” by Beyonce and “Movimento da Sanfoninha” by Anitta. She received 8,266 for the execution of the series and another 5,900 for the difficulty score of the acrobatics. The technical committee requested a review of this last score, without success. Rebeca’s total score (14,166) was better than the individual all-around (14,033) and the qualifying round (13,900), but lower than what she achieved in the team competition (14,200).
All eyes then turned to Biles. She performed the most complex series of the final, with a difficulty score of 6.900. However, on two acrobatics, she stepped with both feet off the platform, which reduced her score (7.833) and resulted in a penalty of 0.6. Rebeca still had to wait for the performances of Romanian Sabrina Maneca-Voinea and Jordan Chiles to celebrate, emotionally, her victory on the floor.
Off the podium on the balance beam
Rebeca came in fourth place on the balance beam, which preceded the floor exercise. The São Paulo native scored 13.933 for her performance, just behind Italian Manila Esposito, who won bronze with 14.000. Despite some imbalances in her performance, the Brazilian did not fall off the apparatus.
The gold went to Italian Alice D’Amato, who scored 14.366, while Chinese Zhou Yaqin took silver with 14.100. American Simone Biles, the favorite for gold, fell at the end of her performance, which cost her a place on the podium. With a score of 13.100, she finished in fifth place. The Brazilian Júlia Soares, in her first Olympic final, came in seventh place with 12.333.
Source: Agência Brasil