One of the most accomplished Brazilian gymnasts today, Rebeca Andrade renewed her contract with Flamengo at the beginning of last year, aiming for the Tokyo Olympics, postponed to 2021. Born in Guarulhos, São Paulo, the Flamengo player had a difficult childhood, and her start in artistic gymnastics was a coincidence. After overcoming numerous obstacles, Rebeca is now recognized worldwide, achieving excellent performances on all apparatuses.

This week's series 'The Road to Flamengo' tells the story of the little gymnast who, with a lot of determination and willpower, overcame childhood challenges to become a super athlete, enchanting everyone with her performances, both for the Brazilian National Team and for the Most Beloved.

Rebecca Andrade
- Modality: Artistic Gymnastics
- Date of Birth: 08/05/1999
- Height: 1,54m
- Place of Birth: Guarulhos, SP

The beginning
Born in Guarulhos, São Paulo, to a domestic worker, along with seven siblings, Rebeca had a difficult childhood. Because of her energy, her aunt decided to take her to the Bonifácio Cardoso Gymnasium, where she worked, and at just four years old, the girl took her first steps in the sport. At the time, her mode of transportation to training was by bicycle. Rebeca Andrade was quickly nicknamed "Daiane dos Santos 2" for her agility on the equipment.

Main achievements
In 2012, when she was 13, Rebeca shone in her first professional competition. She became champion of the Brazilian Artistic Gymnastics Trophy, beating out major names in the national sport, such as Jade Barbosa and Daniele Hypólito.

Three years later, Rebeca Andrade made her international competition debut with the Brazilian national team. She won the bronze medal in the uneven bars at the Gymnastics World Cup in Ljubljana, Slovenia. In May 2017, the athlete won her first gold medal in adult competitions, winning the vault at the Koper event, also in Slovenia. That same year, Rebeca repeated the feat, winning two gold medals in Varna, Bulgaria, in the vault and uneven bars.

In 2018, the gymnast competed in another World Cup event in Cottbus, Germany, and secured two more gold medals: in the vault and balance beam. The following year, in Stuttgart, also in Germany, Rebeca took first place in the team competition.

Arrival at Flamengo
In 2011, while still training in Curitiba, Paraná, Rebeca received an invitation from the Brazilian national team coach, Francisco Porath, to train with Flamengo. At the time, Porath would become the club's coach and brought the athlete to join the Flamengo Youth team. After nine years at Flamengo, Rebeca extended her contract to support the project for the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games, which were postponed to 2021.

Main achievements with the Holy Mantle
Representing the red and black colors, Rebeca Andrade shone at the 2014 Brazil Trophy. The gymnast secured first place in the individual all-around, in the uneven bars and on the floor.

On the eve of the 2016 Rio Olympics, the red-and-black athlete represented the Brazilian national team at the São Paulo stage of the World Cup. She reached the finals on the uneven bars and balance beam, taking home silver and bronze, respectively. At the Olympic Games, Rebeca finished 11th in the individual all-around and 8th in the team competition. Previously, the gymnast had already won two silver medals at the Portugal stage of the World Cup, on balance beam and floor exercise.

With the postponement of the Tokyo Olympics until next year, Rebeca Andrade will have a longer period of preparation to try to qualify. While in quarantine, the red-and-black player has been doing activities to strengthen her knee and maintain her fitness.

The red-black team wants to be 100% ready for the return of competitions and will have the Pan-American Championship ahead of it, with no date yet set, to secure the long-awaited Olympic spot.


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.