Brazil is preparing to make its rhythmic gymnastics debut at the Pan American Games this Wednesday, November 1. This year, the country has consolidated itself as a major global sports power.

After securing a historic Olympic berth at the World Cup in Valencia, Spain, athletes in the group who needed care and recovery in preparation for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games were spared from the South-South Championships. Americans in Barranquilla, which took place at the beginning of the year. October.

In Santiago, Brazil will be represented by a mix of younger and more experienced athletes. Nicole Pircio, Bárbara Galvão, Victoria Borges and Geovanna Oliveira, who are in the Chilean capital, were in Valencia, but not all as starters. They are joined by the young Gabriela Coradine.

The team’s athletes who needed care and recovery in preparation for the Paris Olympics were spared from the South American Championships in Barranquilla in October. The coach of the Brazilian team, Camila Ferezin, spoke about the team’s preparation.

“We have a team of 12 gymnasts. So, we formed two groups to train throughout the season. Each gymnast in the group has a replacement and so we work and define at each competition who is the best physically, technically and mentally for each competition. We had two weeks of intense work. The effort was to get reporting and synchronization. The individual quality of the athletes is very high. In the South American Championship, with Group 2, we achieved excellent results,” he said.

Since the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Brazil has not won all three gold medals at stake (single, mixed and general series).

Individual dispute

Bárbara Domingos, the only individual rhythmic gymnastics athlete present in Santiago and who has already tasted a medal at the Pan American Games, with silver on her ribbon, in Lima 2019, believes that the competition in the Chilean capital could give her the opportunity to close a brilliant and fulfilling season. Babi recently won an Olympic berth at the World Championships in Valencia in August.

“I am very well prepared. At the World Cup, we reached our peak in terms of competition. We have great possibilities, as a result of this campaign, to record great successes here,” said the athlete from Curitiba.

The Olympic athlete still has the feeling of being runner-up on the ribbon, very fresh in his memory. “These memories from Lima are some of the most special of my career. This is where I won my first medal, during my first participation in the Games. It’s a historic result for Brazil and I only have good memories of this magnificent competition,” he said.

Beforehand, Bárbara warns that she will not find it easy. “The Canadians, North Americans and Mexicans should also be very well prepared, as they are still fighting for the Olympic spot and have certainly trained a lot. It’s going to be a very close competition, I imagine. But it’s a competition that always has a different energy, a special atmosphere. And whoever does the best on the pitch will be rewarded,” concluded the native of Paraná.

In addition, Geovanna Santos, holder of two medals at the Rio Rhythmic Gymnastics Pan, in 2022 (masks and ribbon), also arrives with great ambitions in the field of competition. And the biggest concern in Espírito Santo concerns precisely the series of apples. “We changed series, so as the change is recent, the difficulties are greater. But I’m very happy to be able to show this routine that I’ve been training for 30 days. I hope everyone enjoys the series and has fun watching it, just like I did on the field.

Finally, the young Maria Eduarda Alexandre, barely 16 years old, often considered an athlete with a promising future, seeks to take advantage of the opportunity to be seen by a much wider audience. “I want to make this competition a lever to fly even further. I have a hard time even telling myself what I’m feeling right now. I’m experiencing situations that I never imagined I would experience in gymnastics. This is one of the biggest competitions I could ever participate in.

Duda and his coach avoided making major changes to the series presented at the South American Championship in Barranquilla. From the Brasileiro to Sula, the transformations were greater. “I modified the dancing part, the throws and some difficulties in which we increased our value,” said the athlete.