With her usual sweet, confident, and emotional demeanor, gymnast Jade Barbosa spoke to the press on Tuesday afternoon (July 03.07) at the Claudio Coutinho Gymnasium in Gávea, and took the opportunity to make an appeal to the Brazilian Gymnastics Confederation. At 21, Jade Barbosa was going to her second Olympics, but was ultimately cut by technical coordinator Georgette Vidor for disagreeing with certain clauses in her contract. Focused and determined, the Flamengo gymnast made a point of repeating countless times that she never intended to fight with the Confederation or generate any kind of conflict.

"A contract arrived at my house, as all the athletes did. I read it and didn't agree with some of the clauses. After that, I tried to negotiate with the Confederation about the contract, without any problems. Sunday night, I received an email from the CBG saying that if I didn't have the contract signed, I wouldn't be able to attend the national team's training. Well, I kept trying to talk about the contract, but throughout all of this, I wasn't able to participate in any competitions. I was upset," said the gymnast, who has been preparing for the London Games for four years.

Jade still hopes that the Confederation will reconsider and her name will be on the list of athletes that will be released this Wednesday.

"Well, I'm really physically prepared. I'm doing the same training as the girls at the center. I'm prepared because I've been training well. Georgette can understand that I'm prepared. I decided to sign this contract because it involved a lot of investment, a lot of work over many years that could have ended up not happening due to clauses and bureaucracy. I gave in several times; I'm here at my disposal because it's a dream. And I really want this opportunity. It's a dream that I'm sure I'm prepared for, I've worked hard for. I really wanted to be part of this team that's going to London. I think I'm ready; I don't think contractual clauses can get in the way of my going to London."

Visibly shaken, Jade says she's confident. "I hope everything works out. The bureaucratic part has already been resolved. I'm capable of representing Brazil. I haven't missed a single day of training. I planned this Olympics. Hope is the last thing to die, and I'm asking for it from the bottom of my heart. It really is a dream of mine, it was my goal. If the bureaucratic part has already been resolved, what's left? I'm prepared, and I say I am. I may have made some mistakes, but I never intended to embarrass the Confederation. But I did what I could. When I realized I was too weak for that, we reevaluated and saw what could be done. At no point did I say no to wearing the national team uniform. I want to wear my flag; I want to be with Brazil," the gymnast concluded.