Beyhive assemble! Why Olympic champion Rebeca Andrade dreams of meeting music superstar Beyoncé
The Brazilian world all-around winner will debut a second floor routine featuring the popstar this week at the World Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
Artistic Gymnastics
World and Olympic gymnastics champion Rebeca Andrade is just like us: she wants to meet music superstar Beyoncé.
The 24-year-old will debut her new floor routine featuring the ‘Break My Soul’ singer on Monday (2 October 2023) as she begins her competition at the 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships in Antwerp, Belgium.
It’s a follow up her iconic programme set to ‘Baile de Favela,’ a nod to Andrade’s humble beginnings that captivated fans around the world.
Andrade gave the world a sneak peek at the routine set to “End of the World” by Beyoncé, music from Brazilian singer Anitta and a small segment of ‘Baile’ on Friday (29 September) during official practice.
“Rebeca's previous song conquered the world, and today, it's a song that Rebeca likes, that Rebeca likes to dance to, and it's a happy song that continues to represent that essence of Rebeca,” coach Francisco Porath said of the new routine. “That's the way she likes it.”
It’s Andrade’s second routine with Beyoncé music, after having used ‘Single Ladies’ at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio.
“Whoever is able to help Rebeca meet her, it would be very interesting,” said Porath. “Rebeca is super Beyoncé fan.”
Renaissance
The Worlds will be Andrade’s first time competing in the all-around since taking the overall crown a year ago in Liverpool.
It was the culmination of a breakthrough that started at Tokyo 2020 after the talented Sao Paolo-native had been sidetracked by injury and inconsistency time and again.
ACL tears in 2015, 2017 and 2019 hampered her progress until the Tokyo Games where she became the first Brazilian woman to claim Olympic gold and the first to climb to the all-around podium, taking silver behind Team USA's Sunisa Lee.
"Everything always happens when it needs to, and I am really happy to have done everything I could," said Andrade after winning in Liverpool. "I feel really incredible and satisfied with the competition."
Her history of injury has meant a fresh approach.
She and Porath pick and choose their spots, competing only a few times a year in an effort to be ready when the biggest moments come.
In 2023, Andrade has yet to compete on all four events.
That’s all part of the plan for Antwerp, the sport’s biggest Paris 2024 qualifier.
“She hasn't competed floor for a while. Floor is the apparatus that wears her out to get ready, to get in shape,” Porath said in Belgium. “Sometimes, we choose not to do floor so that she can do three high-quality other apparatus. And now? Now, she's looking for an Olympic quota, she also has the opportunity for an individual quota, so she needs to do floor.
“We did this planning to get her here, to make the four apparatus,” he concluded.
Sweet dreams
While Andrade enters as the reigning all-around champion and a favourite for the podium once again, her goals are about more than just placements.
“The main goal is to be healthy and happy,” she says of the upcoming Olympics.
Oh, and to be there with her team. In 2019, with Andrade sitting in the stands at the World Championships just a few months removed from injury, she watched as her teammates collapsed, injuries and major errors piling up.
They finished 14th, two spots removed from Olympic qualification.
“And the other [goal], which is the main one, is for us to qualify as a team,” Andrade said. “I think it will be very important for me, for my team, and the focus is on that, whatever happens there, the result is a consequence of our work, of our commitment. But I really want to be there with my team and be happy and healthy.”