5 days ago
Rebeca Andrade extends gymnastics break through 2025 World Championships
Rebeca Andrade will extend her break from gymnastics competition through this October's World Championships, according to media in her native Brazil.
"I'm resting," Andrade said in a video interview with Globo, according to a translation. "It's been really important to me. It was something I've wanted for a long time, but I understood my priorities. So I ended up pushing it forward. But today is wonderful for me."
Andrade, 26, won four medals in Paris, including floor exercise gold, to reach six career Olympic medals, the most by a Brazilian in any sport.
She is expected to return to competition in 2026.
"The whole team felt it wasn't the best time to take her off this cruise ship we're on, and she's doing very well," her coach, Francisco Porath Neto, said in a Globo video interview, according to a translation. "Then, in 2026, we have very important commitments. Olympic qualification starts to count."
Andrade's absence means that none of the 2024 Olympic women's all-around medalists will compete this season.
Andrade, who won all-around silver in Paris, has repeated over the last year that she doesn't plan to continue competing in the all-around when she does return, eschewing floor but keeping the other three events.
Gold medalist Simone Biles and bronze medalist Suni Lee are on indefinite breaks from competition and have not announced whether they plan to return for an LA 2028 bid.
This October's worlds in Jakarta, Indonesia, include individual events only, as is typical in the year after the Olympics.
The four U.S. women who will compete at worlds will be named at a selection competition in early autumn. The all-around winner at that event automatically gets a spot.
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Nick Zaccardi,
