Led by Rebeca Andrade, who Simone Biles referred to as the athlete “she fears the most” in her 2024 documentary “Simone Biles Rising,” Brazil’s team brought extra shine to the artistic gymnastics women’s team final during the 2024 Paris Olympics on Tuesday. The gymnasts won bronze medals while wearing sparkling and patriotic outfits designed by team member Jade Barbosa.
Andrade and Barbosa joined Lorrane Oliveira, Flavia Saraiva and Julia Soares in dark blue leotards that were covered in yellow-gold crystals — both blue and yellow are part of the Brazilian flag.
Barbosa, a four-time Olympian and a two-time individual bronze medalist at the World Championships, has been part of Team Brazil since 2008. When she first started competing, Barbosa would create her own leotards with the help of her dad, César Barbosa. In 2018, Brazil’s artistic gymnastics women’s team got its first sponsorship deal by partnering with Ozone Leotards, a company from Knoxville, Tenn. Since then, Barbosa has been in charge of designing the leotards in collaboration with Ozone.
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In a video published on the official Brazilian gymnastics account on TikTok in 2018, Barbosa discussed her inspirations for designing uniforms for competitions. She often nods to Brazilian colors while also paying homage to classic leotards worn by veteran athletes who were part of Brazilian gymnastics history.
Barbosa also designed the leotards worn by Team Brazil during the artistic gymnastics women’s qualification event on Day Two of the Paris Olympics on Sunday, as well as the leotards worn by them during the 2022 and 2023 World Championships and the Tokyo Olympics in 2021.
Team USA finished the artistic gymnastics women’s team final in first place, winning the gold medal, while Team Italy won silver.
