Andrade To Make 2023 Debut at Brazilian Nationals

The ladies of the Flamengo Ginastica Artistica club, which boasts most of Brazil’s top gymnasts

Rebeca Andrade, who made history as Brazil’s first Olympic champion when she won gold on vault in Tokyo, is set to compete at her country’s national championships this weekend, marking her first time back out on the competition floor since winning the all-around title and bronze medal on floor at worlds last October.

The 24-year-old has looked incredibly strong in podium training videos shared on Instagram, and seems not only likely to easily win the national title again in Lauro de Freitas, but she also has some of the greatest potential to challenge the recently-returned Simone Biles at this year’s world championships.

It seemed likely we were going to get a great battle between these athletes – two of the most talented gymnasts who have existed over the past decade – at the 2020 Olympics, but when the twisties took Biles down, things unfortunately didn’t work out. But this year, we might finally get to see them not only go head to head, but – knock wood – also get to see them do it at full health to really push and challenge each other. With this weekend’s competition our first glimpse at Andrade since last year, it will be exciting to see how she scores and what she might be capable of come October.

In addition to Andrade, we’ll see her 2022 worlds and gold medal-winning Pan Ams teammates Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva, Carolyne Pedro, and Julia Soares, along with two-time Olympian Jade Barbosa, 2022 South American Championships standouts Luisa Maia and Beatriz Lima, and promising first-year senior Gabriela Barbosa, Andreza Lima, and Josiany Calixto, who have been a part of many international squads over the past couple of years, 

On the men’s side, we’ll see the majority of last year’s worlds team back in action, with Diogo Soares, Arthur Mariano, Yuri Guimarães, and Lucas Bitencourt all on the list, though the field is sadly without last year’s Pan Ams all-around champion Caio Souza for the rest of the year after Souza suffered an Achilles injury a few weeks ago.

The decorated rings standout Arthur Zanetti is also on the list, as are 2023 Pan Ams team members Bernardo Miranda, Tomas Rodrigues, Patrick Sampaio, and Leonardo Santos, and João Victor Perdigão, who began competing at the senior level immediately following his performance at the junior world championships earlier this year.

The national championship meet begins with the first day of all-around competition on Friday, August 18, with the men beginning at 8:55 am, the first women’s subdivision beginning at 2:00 pm, and the second women’s subdivision beginning at 5:00 pm (all times local to Lauro de Freitas, Brazil, which is one hour ahead of ET), and it will continue with the second day of all-around competition on Sunday, August 20, featuring the men at 8:55 am, the first women’s subdivision at 9:15 am, and the second women’s subdivision at 2:00 pm.

You’ll be able to follow along with the competition on the Brazilian federation’s YouTube channel, while live scores will be available on SportTech.io.

A full list of athletes in the “adult” category, which includes both seniors and juniors, is below. Note that some of the athletes listed were included on their team roster, but may not compete.

*Junior

Article by Lauren Hopkins

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By: Lauren
Title: Andrade To Make 2023 Debut at Brazilian Nationals
Sourced From: thegymter.net/2023/08/18/andrade-to-make-2023-debut-at-brazilian-nationals/
Published Date: Fri, 18 Aug 2023 04:06:10 +0000