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Brazil’s Flavia Saraiva takes brutal fall off uneven bars during team gymnastics warmup

Brian Jones Profile Picby:Brian Jones•07/30/24•

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Flavia Saraiva
Jul 28, 2024; Paris, France; Flavia Saraiva of Brazil performs on the uneven bars in women’s qualification during the Paris 2024 Olympic Summer Games at Bercy Arena. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports

Olympic gymnast Flavia Saraiva took a brutal fall off the uneven bars while warming up for the team event on Tuesday. She suffered an injury to her eye but continued to compete in the event.

Saraiva, 24, represented Brazil in the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio and the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo (which took place in 2021). She entered the 2024 Olympics in Paris after winning a silver medal and bronze medal at the 2023 World Championships in Antwerp.

During her career, Saraiva has had issues with injuries. During the 2021 and 2022 seasons, Saraiva dealt with ankle injuries and had to have multiple surgeries. In an interview with Olympics.com in December, the star gymnast talked about the biggest lesson she learned from the 2023 season.

“I am more confident with my body, knowing that it is prepared to withstand everything that comes. It is strong and it’s the most important thing of all to me,” Saraiva said. “It’s about having fun and enjoying every moment, every competition, getting there and doing my best.”

Flavia Saraiva talks World Championships and Olympics

Saraiva also talked about her results at the World Championships. “Even if I hadn’t had those results – I’m obviously much happier with the medals – but being able to finish the entire World Championships was my main objective,” she said. “I didn’t go to the World Championships thinking that I could have those historic results for my country.”

Now that the injuries are behind Saraiva, she is ready to take home her first Olympic medal. “I thought medals weren’t for me,” she said. “I thought that I would not be able to have half the result I had because of many things that happened over the years with me, and achieving those results was the consequence of a team’s work behind me, not mind.

“When I was 16, I could have already won an Olympic medal, I could have won a world medal, but I didn’t,” she continued. “Maybe I wasn’t ready to receive a medal and to be able to be ready this year, after everything that happened to me, I think that’s very satisfying.”