“Whenever she could be there with us, she would be tired but very present.” This was Rosa Santos, not just the woman who gave birth to Rebeca Andrade but shaped that very flexible backbone the gymnast has. At just 10 years of age, she had to shift to Curitiba, to learn her trade under the tutelage of Francisco “Xico” Porath Neto. But leaving home is hard, especially even when you have not even hit your teenage; but what helped the Brazilian, and what role did her mother play in it?
Now the protective feelings of motherhood would stop her daughter from going out into the world at such a young age, but that would also mean curbing her dreams, Rosa Santos was better than that. In her interview with Elle Magazine, Andrade recalled, “And then my mother, instead of clipping my wings, she was the person who gave me the most impetus to fly, to run with my own legs, to achieve my goals in my own way,”
But despite the distances she had to travel and the time she had to spent away, Andrade always knew that she had “a home to return to.” Struggles did find her way to the Brazilian, but she was ready for it.
The gymnast remembered that her early life had taught her whatever skills she needed to survive in the new world—mental fortitude, the ability to think on her feet, and the flexibility to fit into new surroundings.
And while Rosa Santos was largely responsible for building the determination that Andrade has come to be known for, she was also there when the gymnast’s determination faltered at one of the most important stages of her career.
How Rosa Santos brought back Rebeca Andrade’s confidence
When Andrade left home for Rio to train, a lot of criticism followed its way to Rosa’s ears, but the mother of the Olympian refused to budge. She had seen something in her daughter’s eye; something she believed in and that something made Rebeca Andrade the most decorated Brazilian and Latin American gymnast of all time.
It was this conviction that saved Rosa from losing herself to fear after her first ACL injury in 2015. The Olympian went through her surgery and her recovery but was still scared, that’s when her mother told her that she wasn’t going to let her give up just because she was afraid.
She said, “Your mother won’t let you stop because you’re afraid to try. You’ll go to the gym. You’ll try.” Rosa knew her daughter could fail, but it did not matter to her. She told her “If you don’t succeed, then it’s okay. You have your house to come back to. We will welcome you.” It is keeping the doors to that home open and pushing her daughter to her very best that has played a pivotal role in Rosa Santos’ gymnast daughter winning a total of six Olympic and nine World Championship medals.
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