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The gymnast’s advisory confirmed the death this Sunday (28/6), but asked for respect for the family’s privacy, who chose not to reveal details about the causes of Rebeca’s father’s death
According to information published by Fábia Oliveira’s column, on the Metrópoles portal, on June 29, 2026, the family of gymnast Rebeca Andrade is in mourning. Ricardo Andrade, the athlete’s father, died over the weekend. The death was announced on Sunday (28/6) by the gymnast’s sister, Elisama, through social media.
“I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith. Rest in peace, dad,” wrote Elisama, in a public farewell to her father.
Contacted by the press, Rebeca Andrade’s advisory confirmed the death but chose not to provide further details about the circumstances of the passing, stating only that the gymnast wishes to keep this loss personal. Therefore, there is currently no official information on age, cause of death, or the location where Ricardo Andrade was at the time of his passing — and it is important to respect this silence requested by the family.
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A farewell that comes days after Rebeca’s return to competitions
The news of Ricardo Andrade’s death comes at an emotionally contrasting moment in the gymnast’s career. A few days ago, Rebeca Andrade had won the gold medal in the vault final at the Pan-American artistic gymnastics in Rio, held at Arena Carioca 1, in Rio de Janeiro. The competition marked the athlete’s return to official competitions, after a break of almost two years, motivated by the need to take care of her own physical and mental health after the Paris Olympics in 2024.
On that occasion, Rebeca was the last to perform on the apparatus and secured the top of the podium with an average of 14.266 points. In the first vault, she achieved the highest score of the final, 14.433; in the second execution, she made a small deviation on the landing line and received 13.700. The silver medal went to Canadian Lia Monica, who scored 14.249, followed by American Claire Pease, bronze with 13.916.
Before the final, Rebeca had already helped Brazil secure a spot at the World Championship
Besides the individual result on the final Sunday, Rebeca Andrade had also participated, on the previous Wednesday, in the qualifying stages of the competition. On that occasion, she scored 14.533 in the vault and helped the Brazilian women’s team win the silver medal in the team competition — a result that secured the Brazilian team’s qualification for the 2026 Artistic Gymnastics World Championship, to be held in Rotterdam, Netherlands.
Earlier this week, before the announcement of her father’s death, Rebeca had taken to social media to reflect on her own return to competitions. “Regardless of the result, I was already celebrating this moment. Because coming back is an act of courage. And I was ready to live every second of it,” the medalist posted at the time.
In this scenario, the news of Ricardo Andrade’s death marks a moment of grief that inevitably adds to a phase that had been described by the athlete herself as one of overcoming and rebuilding. For now, it is important to respect the family’s request for privacy and to follow, discreetly, Rebeca Andrade’s future public statements on the matter, should she choose to speak out.
