Red-black Artistic Gymnastics has a year of great achievements
Check out the 2018 retrospective of one of the club's most traditional sports
By Helena Petry - inWorld Championships, Brazilian Championships, Specialists... these are just some of the competitions in which Flamengo's artistic gymnastics athletes shone in 2018. One of the club's most traditional sports, the sport had a year of great achievements, a result of the club's ever-increasing growth in Olympic sports.
The renewal of the contracts of Jade Barbosa, Flavia Saraiva, Rebeca Andrade and Lorrane Oliveira, in March, was one of gymnastics' biggest triumphs of the year. Alongside the rest of the team, comprised of Milleny Esteves, Lorena Antunes, Luisa Kirchmayer, Maria Cecília Oliveira, Beatriz Simões, Isabelle Retamiro, and Maria Julia Marques, the Olympic athletes performed well throughout the season. Maria Julia kicked off Flamengo's successes in March, becoming champion of the National Selection for the Gymnasiade. and securing a place on the Brazilian school team that competed in the biggest student championship in the world.
In April, Flavia Saraiva secured the silver medal for Brazil at the Trofeo Città de Jesolo, in Italy. With Jade Barbosa also on the roster, the country finished second overall in the competition. Less than two months later, the two shone once again with the Brazilian national team at the South American Games. There were seven medals in total, two golds (beam and uneven bars) and one silver (individual all-around) for Flavinha, and two silvers (beam and uneven bars) and one bronze (individual all-around) for Jade, in addition to the team title.
Also in June, the red-and-black team competed in the Brazilian Artistic Gymnastics Championship, in São Bernardo do Campo (SP). The Most Beloved returned to Rio de Janeiro in first place in the qualifying round and with Jade Barbosa winning silver in the individual all-around, in addition to five medals won in the Children's category (one gold, three silver and one bronze).
In August, the Brazilian Specialist Championship also hosted the Brazilian team final, which ended with Flamengo's title. In the city of Santos, in São Paulo, Jade Barbosa, Flavia Saraiva and Isabelle Retamiro shone and placed Mais Querido on the podium in all apparatusesIsabelle and Beatriz Simões were the red-and-black gymnasts who qualified for the final on vault. With 13.800 points, Isabelle won gold, while Bia, with 6.700, placed fifth. On the parallel bars, Jade Barbosa scored 13.200, securing another title for the red-and-black team. Luisa Kirchmayer scored 11.400 and finished sixth. On balance beam, a double podium finish was achieved with Flavia Saraiva in first (14.300) and Jade in second (13.150). In the last event of the day, another medal went to Flavinha, who secured silver with a score of 13.500 on floor exercise.With outstanding performances throughout the year, Jade, Flavia, Rebeca, and Lorrane were called up to the Brazilian National Team that competed in the Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Lima, Peru, in September. Brazil finished second overall, with four of the team's five athletes representing the "Mais Querido" (Most Beloved). Once again, Flavia stood out and secured two silver medals - on beam and floor - and a bronze in the individual all-around.
Flamengo athletes returned to action on October 21st for the State Championship. At Arena Carioca 3, in the Barra da Tijuca Olympic Park, Rubro-Negro won the Senior category title, with excellent performances by Isabelle Retamiro, Beatriz Simão, and Milleny Esteves, who painted the podium red and black, taking the top three places, respectively. "Mais Querido" also won gold in the Infant, Pre-Infant, Pre-Infant Beginner, and Junior Beginner categories. Meanwhile, the red-and-black members of the Brazilian National Team were preparing for the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships.
Between October 28th and November 3rd, Flavia, Jade, Rebeca, and Lorrane competed in the international competition at the Aspire Dome, the world's largest indoor multipurpose gymnasium, located in Doha, Qatar. Once again, Flamengo was the base of the national team, with four of the six athletes selected. The red-blacks were fundamental in the country's important achievement, which qualified for the team final for the first time in eleven years.Brazil last qualified in 2007, at the World Championships in Stuttgart, Germany, when Jade Barbosa won bronze in the all-around. Jade and Flavia also shone, qualifying for the individual finals, with Flavinha also advancing to the final on the floor. The results were extremely significant for the country: Flavia took 8th place overall, establishing herself as one of the ten best gymnasts in the world today, and the 5th place on the floor. Jade finished the competition in 15th place.
Now, the athletes are back at the club and preparing for the last commitments of 2018. For the Brazilian National Team, there is still the possibility of being called up for the Artistic Gymnastics World Cup, between November 22nd and 25th, in Cottbus, Germany.
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.