One of Brazil's leading gymnasts today, Jade Barbosa took her first steps in artistic gymnastics for Flamengo at just five years old. A Flamengo player, the athlete has been a regular on the Brazilian National Team roster since she was a young girl, collecting several internationally significant medals for the club. For the club, numerous regional and national titles are part of the gymnast's successful resume, having enchanted everyone with her talent for the sport from a young age.

This week's series 'The Road to Flamengo' shows the victorious trajectory of Jade Barbosa, a reference in national artistic gymnastics and who serves as an example within Gávea for younger girls who are starting out in the sport.

Jade Fernandes Barbosa
- Modality: Artistic Gymnastics
- Date of Birth: 01/07/1991
- Height: 1,51m
- Place of Birth: Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

The beginning
At just five years old, Jade Barbosa arrived at Flamengo to take her first steps in artistic gymnastics. In her first training session, the girl caught the coaches' attention because she had the ideal body type for the sport. Jade was then invited to join the Flamengo pre-squad and, in a short space of time, became a standout. She progressed through all the youth categories until reaching the main squad, becoming a top athlete on the national and international scene.

With a well-established career within the club, the Rio native had to take a brief hiatus from representing the red-and-black colors. In 2013, she and the rest of the adult team were released after the club announced it would need to temporarily suspend its activities.

Return to Flamengo
After almost a year and a half away from the club where she grew up, Jade Barbosa agreed to return to Flamengo in July 2014. Despite all the maturity she gained over so much time in the sport, her joy was that of a beginner when she returned to her career with the team she loved, where she spent most of her life.

Main achievements
In 2004, Jade competed in her first Pan American Junior Championships, held in El Salvador, and won gold in Floor Exercise, silver in Vault, and bronze in Team Exercise. In the 2006 Pre-Pan Championships, already in the adult category, she replaced Daiane Dos Santos and competed for the first time on the Brazilian national team. In the Individual All-Around, she placed among the top eleven athletes on the continent. In the Team Event, she finished runner-up, qualifying for the Pan American Games in Rio. That same season, Jade performed exceptionally well at the South American Games in Argentina, winning four gold medals: in the Individual All-Around, Team Event, Vault, and Uneven Bars.

In 2007, before turning 16, the athlete competed for the first time in the Senior category at the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup (Paris, France, and Cottbus, Germany). In the first, she finished fourth and seventh in the Vault and Uneven Parallel Bars, respectively. In the second, she won silver in the Vault.

In July of that same year, Jade Barbosa competed in the Pan American Games in Rio and secured gold in the vault event, 15 years after Luisa Parente's victory, and bronze in the floor event. Months later, at the World Championships in Stuttgart, the red-and-black athlete secured an unprecedented podium finish in the Individual All-Around for Brazilian artistic gymnastics.

Main achievements with the Holy Mantle
In 2003, in one of the first competitions representing the red-and-black colors, Jade Barbosa showcased her talent and won the Individual All-Around and all apparatus competitions at the Brazilian Children's Championship. Two years later, now in the adult category, the athlete secured the silver medal in Vault and finished second overall at the Brazilian Artistic Gymnastics Championship. Throughout her career at Gávea, Jade won numerous medals in national competitions. At the last Brazilian Specialist Championship, the red-and-black athlete secured two bronze medals, helping the Red-and-Black team become the overall champion of the tournament.

Today, Jade Barbosa is one of the main athletes in red-black and national gymnastics, alongside Flávia Saraiva, Rebeca Andrade and Lorrane Oliveira. With all these stars available in the squad, the sport becomes even stronger and more successful within the club.


The artistic gymnastics teams of Clube de Regatas do Flamengo rely on resources from their sponsors – AmBev, Rede D'or, IRB Brasil RE, CSN, Brasil Plural, EY – via the Federal Incentive Law/Ministry of Sports (IR), in addition to support from the Brazilian Committee of Clubs (CBC) resulting from the decentralization of resources originating from the Pelé Law.