Note: Jordan Chiles’ bronze medal remainsin contention after the International Olympic Committee reallocated her medal to Romania’s Ana Barbosu. The U.S. is appealing that ruling.
On August 5th, 2024, as Rebeca Andrade wonthe championship of the 2024 Olympic individual floor finals, Simone Biles and Jordan Chiles, the silver and bronze winners respectively, showed their respect to Andrade by bowing down to her. Stunningly, the three women on the podium represented 20 Olympic medals: Biles winning 11, Andrade six, and Chiles three.
Credit: JackGruber-USA TODAY Sports
Cherished Rival
Coming from a favela in Guarulhos, SãoPaulo, with an overcrowded population, Andrade broke unremitting barriers to become a “national treasure.” Rebeca persisted in dedicating herself to her passion, starting by swinging on the bunk beds she shared with her siblings. According to an interview with Rebeca’s older brother, their mother, who worked as a maid, couldn’t afford to pay for their bus tickets to the gym all the time, so they began walking six or seven kilometers to the gym each way.
Andrade is a trailblazer in Braziliangymnastics: At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she was the first Brazilian woman to win Olympic medals in artistic gymnastics. Throughout her path to fame, she persevered through three consecutive anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) injuries.
This revered encouragement is a gorgeousportrayal of sportsmanship at the sport’s highest level and calls for attention to the rising empowerment of women. The highlights of female athletes earned them dominant glory in the Olympics. While Team USA won 126 medals in total, women accounted for 67 of them, meaning that if they represented their own nation, they would place third in the world. As the International Olympic Committee (IOC) allocated an equal number of quotas to female and male athletes, Paris 2024 became the first Olympic Games in history to achieve perfect gender parity.
Credit: PressParis2024
Shared Identity
In a world where Black athletes faceimmense expectations intertwined with the pressures of white supremacy, the exceptional achievements of Simone, Rebeca, and Jordan are breaking barriers. In an interview with Olympics.com, Biles expressed her excitement about “setting those standards and paving the way.”
Back in 2021, when Biles was overcomingmental health challenges, she said, “I truly do feel like I have the weight of the world on my shoulders at times.” She highlighted the long-standing expectations of Black excellence that represent the aspirations of all Black people. According to Harry Edwards, a sociology professor emeritus at UC Berkeley, “Women, like Black people, like other minorities in American society, have never been considered credible witnesses to their own circumstances, outcomes, and challenges. When they said something, they were simply not heard.”
Credit: a screenshot from X; ID: MadamAuntie VP Kamala Harris for PRESIDENT!
Rebeca Andrade, Simone Biles, and JordanChiles painted a stunning picture in history, representing the united voices of race and gender minorities, calling for attention to support other youngsters with shared identities. Their voices are resonating: this exhilarating moment became a trend on social media with the tag #BlackGirlMagicPodium.
References
1. Bregman, Scott. “Simone Biles on FirstAll-Black Olympic Gymnastics Podium: “We Knew the Impact It Would Make.” -
Exclusive.” Olympics.com, International Olympic Committee, 6 Aug. 2024, olympics.com/en/news/simone-biles-on-first-all-black-olympic-gymnastics-podium-we-knew-the-impact-it-would-make-exclusive. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
2. Chappell, Bill. “3 Black Women Create anOlympic First in Gymnastics.” NPR, 5 Aug. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/08/05/nx-s1-5064233/simone-biles-jordan-chiles-rebeca-andrade-paris-olympics-gymanstics-floor-exercise. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
3. Isabel, Maria. “How a Bunk Bed Acrobatfrom a Favela in Brazil Became the #2 Female Gymnast in the World.” NPR,Aug. 2024, www.npr.org/sections/goats-and-soda/2024/08/01/g-s1-14808/olympics-simone-biles-rebeca-andrade-gymnastics-silver-medal. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
4. Macur, Juliet. “Rebeca Andrade Wins theVault, Brazil’s First Gold in Women’s Gymnastics.” The New York Times, 1Aug. 2021, www.nytimes.com/2021/08/01/sports/olympics/rebeca-andrade-vault-gold-gymnastics.html. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
5. McNamara, Brittney. “The 2024 Olympics Hadthe First-Ever Gymnastics Podium Composed of All Black Women.” Teen Vogue,Teen Vogue, 5 Aug. 2024, www.teenvogue.com/story/2024-olympics-first-ever-gymnastics-podium-composed-of-all-black-women. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
6. “Olympic Pressure and How Black AthletesBalance Being Applauded yet Feared.” NPR.org, www.npr.org/2021/07/27/1021373118/olympic-pressure-and-how-black-athletes-balance-being-applauded-yet-feared. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
7. “Paris 2024 Will Be the First 100% GenderEqual Games in History.” Press.paris2024.org, press.paris2024.org/news/paris-2024-will-be-the-first-100-gender-equal-games-in-history-5967-7578a.html. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
8. Treisman, Rachel. “Team USA Has Women toThank for More than Half of Its Olympic Medals.” NPR, 12 Aug. 2024, www.npr.org/2024/08/12/nx-s1-5072047/us-women-olympic-medals. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.
9. “#GenderEqualOlympics: Paris 2024 MakingHistory on the Field of Play.” Olympics.com, International OlympicCommittee, 28 July 2024, olympics.com/ioc/news/genderequalolympics-paris-2024-making-history-on-the-field-of-play. Accessed 15 Aug.2024.