Rebeca Andrade becomes first South American gymnast to win world all-around title

With gravity-defying tumbling and assurance that seems to turn with each routine, Rebeca Andrade made past connected Thursday astatine the satellite championships successful Liverpool, England, becoming the archetypal South American gymnast to triumph the all-around title.

The 23-year-old Brazilian competitor, who earned all-around metallic astatine the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, entered the lawsuit arsenic the favourite -- and she much than lived up to the hype.

Starting the time connected vault -- the lawsuit connected which she is the reigning Olympic champion -- Andrade made her front-runner presumption wide close away. With a 15.166, including a mind-blowing 9.566 for execution, it was the highest people of the time for immoderate gymnast connected immoderate event.

See for yourself wherefore with the clip beneath -- and past springiness yourself a accidental to ticker it different 3 oregon 4 times to afloat admit it.

Olympic golden medalist Rebeca Andrade of Brazil perfectly FLEW connected this vault. 😯#WGC2022 | 📺 @peacock pic.twitter.com/Px3932Ahxi

Andrade wasn't astir arsenic cleanable connected bars, her 2nd event, and had immoderate errors throughout, requiring her to marque immoderate on-the-fly (literally) adjustments. But she appeared wholly unfazed. In fact, successful what mightiness conscionable beryllium the eventual flex, she laughed it disconnected erstwhile it was over.

Americans Shilese Jones and Jade Carey gained immoderate crushed connected Andrade's pb astatine the halfway constituent but it ne'er genuinely seemed successful jeopardy.

There were a fewer much mistakes connected equilibrium beam, but with her precocious level of difficulty, Andrade held connected to the lead, with Jones little than a constituent behind.

As the last gymnast to vie connected level successful the past rotation of the day, and connected the heels of immoderate unthinkable routines from Jones, Carey and Great Britain's Jessica Gadirova, Andrade owned the moment.

At the Olympics, level had been the lawsuit connected which Andrade was incapable to clinch the win. But determination were nary signs of nerves connected Thursday. Instead, Andrade had everyone successful the assemblage -- adjacent those rooting for the section favorites -- clapping and cheering during her show-stopping routine.

While the judges made her hold for what felt similar an eternity for her people to marque it official, her presumption arsenic gymnastics' caller queen seemed each but definite from the infinitesimal she walked disconnected the floor.

Still, she couldn't fell her excitement erstwhile her people was announced.

The infinitesimal Rebeca Andrade became Brazil's first-EVER satellite all-around champion. 🇧🇷🥇 #WGC2022 pic.twitter.com/bxvcypNYFp

Andrade has suffered 3 ACL tears passim her vocation that sidelined her for important stretches, and she battled COVID-19 during the lead-up to the Tokyo Games. But arsenic she celebrated Thursday, and aboriginal smiled connected apical of the podium with the golden medal draped astir her cervix and the Brazilian nationalist anthem playing implicit the loudspeaker, it mightiness person conscionable made the extremity effect adjacent sweeter.

Jones yet finished successful 2nd place, 1.5 points down Andrade, and Gadirova came successful third, marking the 3rd medal (in 3 events) for the location squad truthful acold -- with the women's squad winning metallic connected Tuesday and the men taking location bronze connected Wednesday. Gadirova's bronze was the archetypal all-around medal won by a British woman.

Gadirova's teammate Alice Kinsella finished conscionable disconnected the podium successful 4th place, with Canada's Ellie Black and Carey rounding retired the apical six.