Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva sported a bandage over her right eyebrow during the women’s team gymnastics final at the Paris Olympics on July 30.
What was going on under the bandage, however, looked worse than a small cut.
The commentator introducing Flavia Saraiva saying “it looks like she has a wound on her eye there”. Lol, what gave it away? #Paris2024 #OlympicGames pic.twitter.com/3QB8mYyPvi
— Shae Roberts 🌊 (@shaedreams1) July 30, 2024
The athlete had a significantly bruised black eye along with a cut on her face, all from a scary fall while warming up on the uneven bars. The 24-year-old slipped off the eight-foot-high bar while practicing her routine on the parallel bars, and subsequently kneed herself in the eye.
Even with the injury, Flavia managed to seamlessly execute her routine on the uneven bars for the actual event.
“She left to get medical attention, but she is back,” NBC announcer Rich Lerner said during the broadcast. “She’s tough.”
“There is nothing worse than not just falling in warmups but blanking out and having that moment replay in your mind right before competing,” added analyst and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez.
flavia saraiva nossa diva injustiçada, simplesmente perfeita pic.twitter.com/qtUyg2iqPT
— biaa (@dayaprker) July 30, 2024
Once bandaged up, Saraiva performed her routine on the uneven bars at the Games, scoring a strong 13.666. She went on to perform a floor routine to a French cabaret classic, NBC News reported.
Many fans quickly took to social media to applaud the athlete for her ability to shake off the mishap.
Flavinha Unstoppable 👏👏👏#ArtisticGymnastics Flávia saraiva #GinasticaArtistica #Paris2024 #OlympicGames #Olimpiadas2024 pic.twitter.com/KTd1jhiiKz
— Tiago Pereira (@QueriaSerVJ) July 30, 2024
One social media user commented, “I cannot believe she helped Brazil win a bronze medal after that scary fall in uneven bars warm up. Flavia Saraiva is a warrior!”
Another said, “That’s my f***ing hero.”
🇧🇷💛💚 pic.twitter.com/knHUyDpm45
— 21 (@21metgala) July 30, 2024
Flavia, who also competed in the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic games, isn’t a stranger to overcoming injuries. The Brazilian gymnast had several ankle surgeries putting her status in question for the 2024 Paris Olympics.
“Every time I returned, I felt something different, another foot injury,” she explained to Olympics.com. “I wondered ‘what’s my year gonna be like?’ Many people know, but I wanted to stop training. I said, ‘What am I doing here?’ I can’t compete in my best form. I always want to be among the best.”
But even with that hesitation, Saraiva proved good enough to help Brazil medal against the best competition in the world, finishing less than one point behind Italy to take home the bronze. This was the first team medal for Brazil in gymnastics.
