Rebeca Andrade made history this week at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics and became the first female Brazilian gymnast in the competition’s history to win a medal.
The 22-year-old, who was awarded the silver medal in the all-around competition, said she was happy with her performance, ESPN reported.
"I hoped for this moment, and I have trained and worked super hard for this moment. I don't have any words to describe how I am feeling, nor the feeling of having the Olympic silver medal around my neck," Andrade said.
This is a huge win for Brazil and for the gymnast, who traveled to Tokyo without her team, which hasn’t qualified for the last four Olympic tournaments, USA Today reported.
Andrade's faced quite a few obstacles on the path to her recent victory.
In 2019, Andrade tore her anterior cruciate knee ligament for a third time in a four-year span. As a result, she could not participate in three World Championships.
She would go on to face further hurdles. In March 2020, she arrived in Baku, Azerbaijan, to participate in a gymnastics competition where she qualified and finished in second place on beam and third place on bars, however she couldn’t compete because the event was cancelled due to the pandemic, Reuters reported.
Later that year, she tested positive for COVID-19 and had to withdraw from a meet in Portugal, which would’ve helped her and other athletes prepare to qualify for the Tokyo Olympics.
Earlier this year, the gymnast worked with a sports psychologist who helped her to stay focused on her goal of making it to the Olympics.
In June, Andrade was uncertain if she would have to pass up another opportunity to compete in the games and was given one final shot to earn a spot in the Olympics, ESPN reported.
She was informed that the top two finishers at the Pan American Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, would be awarded the two final spots in Tokyo.
Andrade reigned victorious over the competition and when she qualified, she was in second place behind Simone Biles.
During Thursday’s competition, the gymnast could’ve won gold. However during her final event she stepped out of bounds twice, and America’s Sunisa Lee took home the win.
The gymnast said winning the silver medal wasn’t just for herself but for those who have supported her along the way.
"There have been so many people that helped me along the way. I am very grateful for having them around. I wouldn't have achieved this without them," Andrade said.
The silver medalist said she felt like winning the gold medal was a possibility once Biles withdrew from the competition. and that the four-time Olympic gold gymnast was “incredible.”
"People need to understand that we are not robots. We are human beings, and we have feelings like anyone else. That's the same with me," Andrade said after Biles withdrew from Olympic competitions last week. We feel the pressure. But I tried to keep my cool. I tried to put into practice everything that I trained with my psychologist, and it worked. I did all that I could, and I couldn't be happier with my performance."
