From Gabriel Medina’s mid-surf levitation to Pan Zhanle’s swimming world record and Novak Djokovic’s first gold medal, the 2024 Paris Olympics have not been short of memorable moments. Gymnastics, however, has outshone all other sports.
A beautiful moment between champions took over the Paris 2024 conversation on Monday after silver-medalist Simone Biles and bronze-medalist Jordan Chiles (both Team U.S.) decided to bow down to their competitor and friend, Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade. Andrade finally made it to gold in the floor exercise after securing the third and second spots on the podium, respectively, in the past week.
Andrade managed to beat gymnastics superstar Biles with a gorgeous floor routine that earned her a 14.166 score and Team Brazil a second gold medal at this edition of the Olympic Games. The two athletes had been neck and neck for the past week, with Biles coming out on top on nearly every occasion. The rivalry soon turned into refreshing camaraderie, culminating in the year’s best photo — a perfect capture of the Olympic spirit.
Nancy Armour, a sports reporter for USA Today, shared the behind-the-scenes of the eye-watering moment. The idea to bow down to the winner came from Chiles, who had also just achieved her own dream by winning her first-ever individual medal in a last-minute turn-around, but Biles was quick to join in. “It was just the right thing to do,” the most decorated gymnast in history told reporters, adding “[Rebeca] is queen.”
You can watch Chiles signal her plans to her teammate in the video below.
The three women, aged 27, 25, and 23 (L-R), made further history by becoming the first all-Black podium in Olympic Gymnastics history. “I’m sorry Medina, but this is the photo of Paris 2024,” Brazilian journalist Gustavo Zupak commented.
The healthy competition between Simone Biles and Rebeca Andrade has been one of the highlights of the 2024 Olympics, with the former joking on Thursday, after winning the All-Around competition by a short margin, that she didn’t want to compete with her Brazilian rival anymore.
I’m tired! She’s way too close. I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and it brought out the best athlete in myself, so I’m excited and proud to compete with her, but uh-uh. I’m getting uncomfortable, guys! I was stressing!”
Rebeca is the most decorated Olympian in Brazil’s history, and the first person to beat Simon Biles on floor since 2015 — no small feat considering the American’s reputation as one of the greatest athletes of all time. The historic photo, which will no doubt be remembered for years or even centuries to come, is the perfect send-off to this especially exciting chapter in Artistic Gymnastics history as the sport’s events wrap up at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
