Brazil’s Andrade makes history, wins world gymnastics title

Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade claimed her first all-around world title on Thursday by leading a squad of 24 finalists with 56.899 points.

Andrade, 23, had reached the final as the top qualifier. The Olympic all-around silver medalist was strong on the vault as the Olympic champion in this event nailed a routine with a difficult score of 5.6 points, leading the final with 15.166 after the first rotation.

Although Andrade’s performance on the uneven bars was less impressive, she managed to stage two solid routines on the beam and the floor later, ultimately heading the US’ Shilese Jones by 1.5 points.

Jennifer Gadirova of Britain finished third with 55.199 points, while China’s Ou Yushan was seventh with 53.899.

“It means a lot to me, because I can still compete after injuries and show what I’m capable of. I feel that I can show a lot more and keep doing gymnastics,” said Andrade after competing, who has undergone three ACL reconstruction surgeries, all on her right knee.

On comparing this medal with the all-around silver at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, Andrade said “the goal was different.”

“At the Olympic Games I had the goal of presenting my gymnastics, and here I had the goal to continue enjoying my gymnastics.”

China’s Ou, 18, said she believed there was still a big gap between her and the world’s top gymnasts. “When I get home, I will definitely work harder to improve in many ways.”

But Ou added that she was confident for her beam routine, as she had claimed the highest scores both in last Sunday’s qualification and in the all-around final.

“I have high difficulty on my beam routine and I believe in myself. But all I have to do is to focus on myself and overcome my nerves.”

Unexpectedly, Andrade failed to qualify for the vault final as she failed in her second attempt, but she is capable of competing in the other three individual events.