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The greatest gymnast in history will meet her best rival, Brazilian Rebecca Andrade, at the Paris Olympics. Against all expectations, the relationship between the two champions is on good terms, with more mutual support than low blows.
We could describe them as “best enemies”… The rivalry between legend Simone Biles and Brazilian Rebecca Andrade is at the heart of the Paris Olympics. And for good reason. despite her first team all-around title in Paris this Tuesday, July 30, with her American counterparts, the greatest gymnast in history is being seriously tested by Olympic champion and reigning world champion Andrade. jump. However, the relationship between the two gym stars is not tinged with any animosity. Unlike the tension we often see between high-level athletes, they encourage each other during competitions. Biles has even been instrumental in key moments in Andrade’s career.
“Do not give up”
While Simone Biles has had to bounce back from mental health issues in recent years, the Brazilian, for her part, has been weakened by several knee injuries that forced her to undergo three surgeries between 2015 and 2019. Washington Post , in 2018, Rebecca Andrade struggled to return from a torn cruciate ligament. It was a disappointment at the world championship held in Qatar that year. he took the 7th place in the team fight. After the competition is over, Andrade is sitting alone on a bench outside her hotel lobby when suddenly Simone Biles comes to meet her. “It was a very sweet, very loving moment because there was no one else around,” she says Washington Post. “He told me. “Don’t give up, you have talent and you will get through this.”
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The Queen and the Princess
Simone Biles is right. From 2021, Rebecca Andrade comes out and becomes the revelation of the Olympic Games in Tokyo. A competition that sounded the death knell of the Biles era, the American multi-gold medalist was forced to withdraw. rotations (terrible loss of bearings while performing acrobatic figures), and depression, the American athlete is known for speaking openly about the mental health of high-level athletes and the importance of maintaining it. After a year away from the gym, he will return at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp, where he won four gold medals.
I feel like we push each other to bring out the best in us.
Simone Biles
For her part, Rebecca Andrade is (finally) peaking. Establishing herself as the new face of world gymnastics, she became the first athlete to offer Brazil Olympic gold in the vault. A status he would later confirm at the final World Championships in Antwerp in 2023, winning the world title on the same apparatus ahead of a certain… Simone Biles.
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One image will stand out in this famous Antwerp pulpit. Simone Biles mimes putting an imaginary crown on the Sao Paulo star.
“I developed such a fondness for her,” Andrade says of the American woman who is always spotted Washington Post. Same story with Simone Biles. “We were on the same podiums with Rebecca, so I have a feeling that we push each other to bring out the best in us,” he admitted after the results, as reported. Western France . “I love having it [comme concurrente]. He’s incredible to watch, he’s going to be extraordinary. It’s great to see him at work.” Fair play to be implemented during the Paris Olympics as well.
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Source: Le Figaro
