“She is strong.” “She’s stylish.” “She has posture.” “She showed what black is capable of.” “She’s smiley.” “She trains a lot.” “She’s the best.” “She’s the best in the world.”
At eight and nine years old, the youngest students of the sports project based at the Bonifácio Cardoso gymnasium, in Guarulhos (SP), leave aside the typical discipline of artistic gymnastics when it comes to Rebeca Andrade.
The excess of excitement is understandable, since the best gymnast in the world, aged 23, took her first jumps on those same springboards in the gym to later win unprecedented medals for Brazil and become an icon for the new generations.
Born in Guarulhos, in Greater São Paulo, into a poor and large family, Rebeca made history at the Tokyo Olympics, in 2021, by becoming the first Brazilian gymnast to win a gold medal (in vaulting over the table). She was also the first athlete from the country to reach the podium in the general individual category, taking silver.
“Since then, the phone in the gym has never stopped ringing,” says coach Mônica dos Anjos, 50, who started out as a medalist in the sport, and today witnesses a “Rebeca effect” in the high demand for artistic gymnastics at the same center training ground where the world champion and herself began their respective careers.
The reflection of Rebeca’s first major victory, which took place at the Olympics in the midst of the Covid-19 pandemic, can also be seen in the structure of the gymnasium, which received improvements from the city hall and a large decorative panel with drawings of the Brazilian gymnast in action.
Last November, when the athlete conquered another historic mark —the gold medal at the World Artistic Gymnastics in the general individual category—, the “Rebeca effect” reached a new level.
“It was such an explosion of demand that I could hardly celebrate her victory. I couldn’t even cry or scream”, recalls Mônica, who gave interviews in series and helped to create a model for admission of new athletes through workshops, not only of a spot test.
If, before, after publishing the tests on the city hall channels, the gym received just under 200 candidates, after Rebeca’s medals, more than 300 knocked on the gym doors spontaneously. “Today, we have a waiting list”, says Mônica.
A mascot among the new students in this wave, little Lorena expresses this mirroring as an engine for new talent. “My name is not Lorena. My name is Rebeca!”, she says, between a mortal and a split.
This is an incentive that was also part of the history of the current world champion. Rebeca arrived at the gym through her aunt, Cida, who worked in the kitchen at Bonifácio Cardoso.
“She said she had a niece who seemed to be good at artistic gymnastics and asked if I would try it out”, recalls Mônica. “When I saw that little girl all muscular, my eyes lit up! I made her jump on the platform and I saw that she had momentum. And I thought: my God, a future Daiane dos Santos fell here in the gym!”
Daiane herself spent a few days training at the gym in Guarulhos during the two years that Rebeca traveled there daily on the back of one of her seven brothers’ bicycles. Watching the professional athlete’s training up close served as an extra incentive for the little aspirant.
“I understand the importance of this role of being an inspiration because I was also inspired by someone, Daiane dos Santos”, explains Rebeca to Sheet.
“I try to show the reality of high-performance athletes, who need a lot of dedication and abdication, but can also conquer a lot of happiness and joy. I like to show all of this. This is my way of inspiring. I am very proud of everything I have achieved. to be able to be a mirror for so many children and teenagers in the sport.”
For her, Bonifácio Cardoso was the cornerstone of this journey. “It was the great opportunity of my life. It was the beginning of everything I conquered and it was where the professionals saw my potential”, says Rebeca, who met her coach, Francisco Porath, at the gym in Guarulhos.
“I am enormously proud of having started there and I am grateful for having had the opportunity to be part of a social project that changed my life and my future”, says the world champion, who this Saturday (7), from 15:30 , returns to Guarulhos for a presentation and experience of artistic gymnastics within the Sesc Summer 2023 program.
The Bonifácio Cardoso gym was designed by teacher Rose Nogueira in 1979 as an exclusive space for artistic gymnastics. It was built by the Municipality of Guarulhos in the 1990s on land next to the house of Mônica dos Anjos, who was already training in a much more distant location and, after injuries, directed her career towards the technical area and the international refereeing of the sport.
Today, the gymnasts who attend the space are divided between those of the main team, currently with nine athletes, and those of the pre-team, which has about 32 children. The young women on the team train daily for a period of four hours. “Otherwise they don’t reach the level we need”, explains Mônica. The pre-team kids train three times a week for a three-hour period.
“I’m boring and I put the whole family on the line,” said the coach. “You have to organize yourself to fulfill the commitments or leave”, she says, who interrupts the interview with Sheet from time to time to correct small athletes in imperfections imperceptible to the untrained eye.
Mônica says that little Rebeca, at the age of five, was fussy and a little distracted, but already very talented. “She already imagined herself on the platform because, every now and then, she would disappear from training, and we would find her doing choreography in a corner”, she laughs. “Today, the girls who arrive here want to be Rebeca.”
On the gymnasium platform, between parallel bars, trampolines and balance beams, with a small bleacher in the background, future Rebecas candidates parade their knowledge about the heroine of artistic gymnastics.
“Her favorite device is the jump on the table, but she’s even better on the parallel bars”, explains, knowing, Sara Marinho, 9. “And her favorite jump is the flic flic wheel”, adds Estela Leal Camargo, 8 .
Flick Flick Wheel? “I’ll show you how it is”, says little Estela before walking solemnly to the platform, under the attentive gaze of her colleagues.
The funny name hides a challenging sequence of a star that ends with two feet together and ends with two mortals. Estela completes the jump and raises both arms, arching her chest forward, to the applause of her junior colleagues. “Since I saw Rebeca at the Olympics, my dream is to be an athlete and go to the Olympics.”
The Olympic medalist leaves a message for athletes who are inspired by her. “My message is: believe in yourself. We start in the dark, not knowing what to expect, because the sport is very difficult. But, with time and dedication, you will evolve and create your dreams and goals. Believe in the process and don’t doubt yourself, regardless of what others say.”
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
