"I don't think it was a negative fear" - Rebeca Andrade weighs in on Simone Biles' views about her in Netflix documentary

By Animesh Pandey

Modified Jul 31, 2024 09:59 GMT

Simone Biles proved again on Tuesday, July 30, why she is considered one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. With a brilliant performance throughout the gymnastics team finals, she repeated her heroics from Rio 2016 to lead the USA women's gymnastics team to gold in the team all-around event at the 2024 Olympics. While the USA topped the table with 171.296 points, Italy took home the silver, and Brazil completed the podium with a bronze medal.

Yet, it was Rebeca Andrade, the Brazilian gymnast, who almost stole the limelight by overcoming Simone Biles in both vault and uneven bars. In the Netflix documentary 'Simone Biles Rising', Biles shared that among all her competitors, she considered Rebeca to be her toughest opponent. Biles said,

"Rebeca Andrade. She scares me most."

Andrade, for her part, shared during a recent interview with the media after the team all-around (via @andreglauria on X):

"Yes, I don't think it was a negative fear, as she said before, we encourage each other to be better and better, that's what she sees in me, and what I see in her saying that about me is very positive, I'm very happy, and I feel the same way about her," she said [translated].

Biles has previously also revealed her admiration for Rebeca as a fellow gymnast. Just after the 2023 World Championships, she had said:

"I actually love competing with Rebeca. She does push me, she makes me want to stick to all my landings." [via @Gymnastics_Now]

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Head-to-head comparison between Simone Biles & Rebeca Andrade

Rebeca Andrade [Left] alongside Simone Biles and teammate Flavia Saraiva on the podium at the Artistic Gymnastics World Championships. Antwerp 2023 [Image Source: Getty]

The rivalry between Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade goes back to the Rio Olympics of 2016. Andrade had stood third in the qualification round of the individual all-around event. However, in the finals, she fizzled out, and Biles returned home with an Olympic gold medal.

However, at the next Games, Andrade almost upset Simone Biles in the vault event at the Tokyo Olympics. Andrade was barely 0.83 points behind Simone Biles during the qualification round. However, before the finals, Biles withdrew due to the 'twisties', a condition where gymnasts experience mental blocks during the performance, making it tough to perform the correct landing.

Biles took home just one silver and one bronze from the Tokyo Olympics. On the other hand, Andrade took home the gold medal in the vault, defeating MyKayla Skinner of the USA by only 0.167 points.

Since then, Andrade has never looked back. At the 2023 World Championships, she upstaged Biles to take home the gold medal in the vault event. Apart from that, the Brazilian gymnast won three silver medals and a bronze medal.

Even at the Paris Olympics 2024, Andrade is giving Simone Biles a run for her money. She overcame the latter in both the vault and uneven bars section and was just 0.366 points behind Biles overall. Simone Biles would now face Rebeca Andrade directly in events like individual vault and individual all-around at the Paris Olympics next.