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This Gymnast Used Beyonce For Her Floor Music
Brazilian Olympic gymnast Rebeca Andrade may only be 17, but she definitely turned heads for Team Brazil, when the gymnast used Beyoncé songs in her floor music. Her spectacular Monday floor routine, performed to a Beyoncé/samba floor music medley of "Crazy in Love" and "Single Ladies," was received with much warmth and acclaim. Using a combination of breathtaking jumps, and samba and hip-hop choreography, Andrade's routine was an instant hit with both American and international spectators. And it's garnered more attention for the Brazilian Olympian and Team Brazil, which is of course great for the home team in this year's summer Olympic games.
Andrade qualified fourth for the women's individual all-around final, but finished ahead of the rest of the Team Brazil participants. Placing ahead of the Brazilian gymnast in the Sunday competition was Team USA's much adored Simone Biles, Aly Raisman, and Gabby Douglas. The team competition was not as strong as the individual performance, though, with Brazil finishing the women's team all-around in eighth place with a total score of 172.087 points.
The 17-year-old was a much-anticipated junior gymnast, but some injuries created some set-backs to her career. She was unable to participate in 2014 Youth Olympic Games as the Brazilian representative after sustaining a toe injury and was replaced by Flavia Lopes Saraiva, who is also part of this year's Team Brazil. Then she also endured a torn ACL, which stopped her from participating in competition for the year 2015, her first as a senior gymnast. Andrade had to undergo surgery in São Paulo and needed to take several months rest for recovery.
But in an amazing comeback story, the Brazilian native seems to have made a smooth recovery, executing not only a triumphant performance in her first games, but finishing at such a high level. Her Beyoncé routine was a particular surprise favorite so far in the 2016 women's gymnastic competition, and something that has since made headlines.
Team USA did not defy expectation in taking the Olympic gold for the women's team all-around Tuesday evening. But while Team Brazil may not have finished as strongly as they had hoped, Andrade's first senior Olympics performance was a bold and vibrant introduction for the gymnast, and it will definitely go down as one of the more notable and spunky performances this year.