Brazil: Rebeca Andrade triumphs at Pan American Games in table jumping
Rebeca Andrade's star shone brightly on Tuesday night (Oct. 24) as she clinched the gold medal in the table jumping event at the Pan American Games in Santiago, Chile. The Brazilian gymnast claimed the top spot on the podium with an average score of 14.983 points (15.333 and 14.633), outperforming the USA's Jordan Chiles (silver with 14.150 points) and Mexico's Natalia Escalera (bronze with 13.333 points).
Andrade boasts an extraordinary track record on this apparatus, including an Olympic gold medal earned in Tokyo, Japan, in 2021, as well as two World Championships titles—one in 2021 in Kitakyushu, Japan, and another this year in Antwerp, Belgium. Her victory on Tuesday marked her first Pan American Games gold.
"I am thrilled and honored to have executed a good jump. After the intense World Championships competition in Antwerp, and putting in good performances, I believe it was our main goal. The result is a consequence [...]. My relationship with the vault is solid. It may not be my favorite apparatus—parallel bars hold that honor—but I really enjoy table jumping," commented Andrade. She also secured a silver medal in the asymmetric bars, where Flávia Saraiva clinched bronze, while gold went to American Zoe Miller.
In the men's all-around event held on Tuesday (24), Arthur Nory secured the silver medal in the floor exercise. Canada's Felix Dolci claimed the gold, and Colombia's Juan Larrahondo earned the bronze.
Gold medal in taekwondo
Brazil's taekwondo team also clinched a gold medal. In the men's team competition, Edival Pontes, Paulo Ricardo, and Maicon Andrade triumphed over Chile with a score of 48-16, securing the top spot. "It was a thrilling experience. This was our first time competing as a team, and it felt like magic," exclaimed Pontes, also known as Netinho.
The Brazilian women's team won a bronze medal in the same sport, featuring Caroline Gomes, Maria Clara Pacheco, and Sandy Macedo.
