It truly was an iconic moment. Two American gymnasts bowing down as Rebeca Andrade beamed a thousand-watt smile with an Olympic gold medal around her neck. Paris 2024 was the last time she would ever compete on the mat for two years before her return in 2026. And as it turns out, it was also the last time she would ever compete in the floor exercise.

“For me it’s definitive,” Andrade told Olympics.com. “Floor is an apparatus that wears me down a lot. Of all the apparatus, it was the hardest. I love performing on floor, but understanding the limits of my body, today I don’t see myself doing it anymore.”

“I don’t have that spark for this apparatus anymore. When I decided in 2024 that I didn’t want to do it anymore, it was a very conscious choice. It wasn’t something I thought of overnight. It was years of already feeling this.”

Andrade decided against floor exercise after the Paris Olympics. More importantly, it’s one she plans on sticking to even after her comeback at the Pan American Championships.

The 27-year-old opted to take a break to recover from the toll of her gold-winning Olympic cycle. She left Paris with three medals – a team bronze for Brazil (the country’s first), a silver in the all-around, and a gold in the floor. It made her the first Brazilian Olympic floor champion of either gender and the most decorated Brazilian Olympian.

Despite the long break, Andrade was back with a bang recently. The Brazilian returned to competitive gymnastics in mid-June, representing her home country. While the Olympian only competed on the vault, she walked away with the gold medal. It was a close-fought battle as Canada’s Lia Monica Fontaine scored 14.249 and set the stage.

Andrade’s first vault saw her effortlessly land a double-twisting Yurchenko, much to the roar of the crowd. The gold looked like it was all but hers. However, errors in her second vault reduced the gap between them to the tiniest margins. In the end, the 27-year-old won gold by just 0.017 points. Pan American All-Around Champion Claire Pease came third to complete the podium.

Meanwhile, Team Brazil won silver in the team competition, with Andrade leading the way on the vault. The 27-year-old wasn’t required to perform in the floor exercise, a trend she hopes continues.

Her focus for the 2028 LA Olympics is on the uneven bars, even if it means not competing in her favourite event throughout 2026.

“We’re thinking a lot about changing my routine,” Andrade explained. “[Coach Francisco ‘Chico’ Porath] knows how much I like this apparatus, how much I’d like to make a final and, who knows, be an Olympic medallist.

“If I want a different composition, I can’t keep doing everything. I have to prepare, train, go back to doing some things I did before and get better quality on the new elements.”

Her return to competition also reminded Andrade just how uncertain the road back had been. In fact, after winning gold in Paris and stepping away from the sport, the Brazilian admitted she genuinely thought her career might already be over.

Rebeca Andrade reflects on her long break and comeback

For most gymnasts, a career into their twenties is unthinkable. It’s why many Olympic-level stars and beyond consider retirement the moment they inch closer towards that mid-twenties mark. In fact at the 2024 Paris Olympics, the average age of female gymnastics medalists was 22.7. That was the oldest since 1964, underscoring just how tough the sport is.

It’s why Rebeca Andrade’s break after the Olympics, alongside Simone Biles, had many believing that the Brazilian had all but retired. However, she refuted those claims and has since returned to competitive gymnastics. 

Not just that, the 27-year-old won a close-fought battle on the vault to claim her first gold. That, more than anything, made Rebeca Andrade proud of herself.

“I’m proud of myself for my return, for the way it went. We’ll take it step by step. I think the biggest challenge is confidence; this return was hard-won, very difficult, but it has been rewarding,” Andrade said, according to Olympics.com, after the meet.

“I thought I would be retired! I swear, but after the editions of the Games, I can show more of what I am capable of doing, and I feel more motivated to go forward.”

Walking away from floor may close one chapter of Rebeca Andrade’s career, but her comeback has shown there is still plenty left. For now, the Olympic champion is choosing longevity over nostalgia, and only time will tell if it pays off.