Simone Biles said at the Paris Olympics last year, “I’m tired, like she’s way too close. I’ve never had an athlete that close.” Seems like even the GOAT was feeling the heat from the second most decorated gymnast Rebeca Andrade! But let’s not forget—this is the same Andrade who once nearly walked away from gymnastics entirely after suffering three ACL tears. Now, at 25, her injuries might make her feel older than she is, but that hasn’t stopped her from collecting six Olympic medals. And those medals came at a steep price. We’ve all heard about her injuries, but in a candid interview with BBC World Service, she revealed just how painful and challenging that journey was—not just for her, but for her family and team as well.“My focus is on recovering my body,” confessed the 25-year-old but let’s be real, that “recovery” took years. The Brazilian gymnast’s knees have been through a test of patience and a whole lot of rehab. It all started in 2015 when, at just 16, she suffered her first ACL injury. Then in 2017—because apparently, one ACL tear wasn’t enough—she tore it again. That forced her to withdraw from the World Championships. And just when you thought the universe would cut her some slack, 2019 rolled around, and bam ACL tear number three during a floor routine at the Brazilian Nationals.For many, that would have been the end of the road. We know the ACL is notorious for its poor healing capacity, high failure rate, and three tears. That’s enough to make even the strongest athlete question if it’s worth continuing. But in a YouTube interview, the host hit the Sao Paulo native with the big question: “You had three knee injuries, one of the most serious injuries you can get as an athlete, and that kept you away from training for eight months each time. What were those days like, and what motivated you, you know, to come back again and again?” Andrade didn’t hesitate. She opened up about the pain, the doubt, and the willpower that kept her going.“I think it was God-given that my injuries didn’t interfere with my full potential,” Rebeca Andrade said. “Because for a high-performance athlete, it’s already very difficult. It was an ACL injury—three, on the same knee! I can’t quite grasp it myself, but I have a lot of faith, so I think that’s why.” Most would have called it quits after the first or second injury, but Andrade found strength in the people who believed in her, whether she continued gymnastics or not. But 2019 was a breaking point.After yet another ACL tear, her mom, her coach Francisco Porath aka Chico, and even her teammates—no one knew what to say anymore. “How could they tell me, ‘Don’t give up, you’re going to make it,’ when it had happened three times?” she recalled. Every single time, she wanted to quit. And in 2019, she really meant it. Lying in a hospital bed, already knowing the diagnosis before the MRI even confirmed it, she called her mom, exhausted and defeated. “I don’t want this anymore. I don’t think it’s for me. I don’t want this life,” she told her. Her mom’s response?Rosa’s motherly wisdom: “Stay calm, breathe. Have you been examined yet?” And when Rebeca insisted she already knew, her mom simply asked her to wait for her MRI results and pray to God as earnestly as she could. But grief does take a toll on even the strongest of us and that night, the weight of it all came crashing down. She couldn’t sleep.The Olympic champion was sharing a room with teammate Lorraine Oliveira, who had a competition the day after, so she tried to cry as quietly as possible. But sometimes, grief has a way of spilling over. At that moment, all she wanted was comfort. “God, I just want a hug, I just want to feel held,” she thought. And then, as if the universe had heard her, Oliveira- without even opening her eyes grabbed her duvet, walked over, sat beside Rebeca, and hugged her. “It was the best hug I’ve ever been given, apart from my mother’s,” she said. She understood within that instant that her life was far from over. She would come back. She was determined to make a winning return. The only question was… when?Rebeca Andrade’s family is the real backbone behind Brazil’s gymnastics queenFollowing her devastating ACL injury in 2019 Rebeca Andrade returned to victory by establishing history in the competition. At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, she soared to gold on the vault, becoming the first Brazilian woman to ever win an Olympic medal in artistic gymnastics. But let’s be real! This wasn’t just about gymnastics. Rebeca had to come back. Not just for herself, but for her mother’s sacrifices, for her brothers’ sacrifices, for every struggle that got her to this point.Rebeca Andrade was the youngest among the eight siblings. Rosa singlehandedly maintained her family by cleaning houses to care for her youngest daughter and seven other siblings. Necessities required tremendous effort because money remained extremely scarce. During a previous interview, the 25-year-old remembered how she received all her clothes from family and friends. The odds against her were dire but she possessed something better than money: A support system. Her brother, Emerson took responsibility for ensuring Rebecca attended every day of practice even though they lacked money to pay for transportation. And when things got even tougher? she found support from another unlikely channel.Andrade’s coaches did far more than just show her the way around gymnastics, when money was tight, they stepped in, giving her rides to practice so she could keep chasing that impossible dream. But let’s be real—Rebeca wasn’t waiting for life to hand her an easier path. She walked for hours from her favela outside Sao Paulo to the gym. By age ten, she already knew what it meant to never give up. The Olympic gold medalist’s journey proves that success isn’t just about talent—it’s about toughing it out, going the extra mile (literally), and turning those long, sweaty walks into shiny Olympic podiums.The post Rebeca Andrade Reveals Painful Moment for Family and Team After Major Setback Almost Ended Gymnastics Career appeared first on EssentiallySports.