Guarulhos, Brazil — As she practiced complex moves and flips, 14-year-old aspiring gymnast Manuela Kriegel gazed intently at one of the walls of the Bonifacio Cardoso Gymnasium on the outskirts of Brazil’s big city, São Paulo.
It featured a picture of national hero, Olympic gold medalist and local favorite Rebecca Andrade holding the gold and two silver medals she won at the Tokyo Olympics three years ago.
“This is so passe,” Kriegel told The Associated Press on Tuesday after warming up.
It’s certainly outdated. The 25-year-old Andrade won four more medals at the Paris Olympics, including a gold medal in the floor exercise in a close victory over U.S. gymnast Simone Biles. With six medals, the native of Guarulhos is the most decorated Olympian in the South American country’s history.
Dozens of girls lined up with their parents early Tuesday morning at the public gym where Andrade began her career 15 years ago and where some of Guarulhos’ top players train every day.
Andrade’s childhood in Guarulhos has inspired locals who imitate her daring moves and others who admire her tenacity – she used to walk up to an hour to get to the gym and had three anterior cruciate ligament surgeries during her career.
Andrade left Guarulhos for the Brazilian national team in 2010, moving to Rio de Janeiro soon after, after which he began to make a name for himself in the sport.
Kriegel, who took up the sport in 2019, considered taking a break from competing during the pandemic, but seeing Andrade’s performance in Tokyo (gold on vault and silver in the all-around) changed her mind and convinced her Brazilian gymnast could win at the Olympics, and her belief was further strengthened when fellow Brazilian Andrade beat Biles on floor exercise.
“Rebecca’s right. We have to be confident in the work we do here every day, train right and be confident in what we’re doing,” Kriegel said as 10 children, ages 5 to 10, got a trial lesson in the gym. “It wasn’t possible before she came, and now it’s way beyond our expectations.”
Monica dos Anjos, a gymnastics teacher at Bonifacio Cardoso and an official competition judge, was one of the first people to see Andrade perform when she was 5 years old. She said it didn’t take long for the whole staff to become convinced she was going to be a star.
“I saw a girl with that biotype: strong, explosive, just playing,” dos Anjos said. “Rebecca has inspired a lot of girls to come in 2021. Now they know it’s possible. Rebecca was here, she jumped that same vault, she performed on that same floor. Not everyone will make it, but just dreaming about it and working hard will open a lot of doors for them in the future.”
Kelly Mendes brought her daughter, Lara Vicente, to the gym five years ago when she was just 7. Back then, there was no Andrade to inspire them, but Brazil was already hooked on gymnastics. Now, she believes that passion will only grow.
“It’s a great place to train. I can’t say anything bad about the coaching staff,” Mendes said Tuesday. “There could be another Rebecca at Guarulhos.”
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AP Olympics: https://apnews.com/hub/2024-paris-olympic-games
