WATCH: Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva competes in team final despite getting black eye during warmup

By Agnijeeta Majumder

Modified Jul 30, 2024 20:24 GMT

Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva impressed in the floor routine despite sustaining a cut above her right eye during the uneven bars warmup in the team finals at the 2024 Paris Olympics. Saraiva collected a phenomenal score of 13.533 with a bandaid over her eyebrow.

Saraiva had scripted a comeback story at the 2020 Tokyo Olympics when she injured her ankle on the last tumbling pass on the floor during qualifications. She persevered despite the injury and advanced to the balance beam finals, where she earned the seventh position.

The 24-year-old faced another injury blow at the 2024 Paris Olympics, which echoed her unfortunate situation three years ago in Tokyo. She suffered a cut above her right eye and a bruise below it while performing on the uneven bars ahead of the team finals at the Paris Olympics.

Saraiva slipped off the bar and fell after missing the swing. Her cut was treated with a bandaid but her swollen right eye was noticeable. However, Saraiva performed her floor routine with sheer grace, sticking perfect landings that earned her a total score of 13.533. Watch the video below:

At the 2016 Rio Olympics, Saraiva finished two places behind her US counterpart Simone Biles in the balance beam final. Her effort also helped Team Brazil to earn an eighth-place finish.

In the women's gymnastics team finals, the US team clinched the gold after finishing with a combined score of 171.296. Italy finished in second place to win the silver and Brazil won the bronze.

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Flavia Saraiva - "I am more confident with my body, knowing that it is prepared to withstand everything"

Flavia Saraiva shined at the 2023 Pan American Games, where she collected the silver in the team, all-around, balance beam and floor events and bronze in the uneven bars. These wins came after she underwent surgeries to treat her ankle injuries in 2021 and 2022.

After her comeback success in 2023, Saraiva shared that the health scares boosted her confidence.

"I am more confident with my body, knowing that it is prepared to withstand everything that comes. It is strong and it’s the most important thing of all to me," Saraiva said (via Olympics.com).

Saraiva added:

"It’s about having fun and enjoying every moment, every competition, getting there and doing my best."

The gymnast will prepare for the individual events next, scheduled to start on August 2, 2024.