What Happened to Flavia Saraiva? Injury Update
"We Are Warriors": Flavia Saraiva Helps Team Brazil Make Olympics History Despite Injury
The Brazilian gymnast helped Team Brazil win its first Olympic medal for women's gymnastics.
By Elizabeth RandolphPublished Aug. 2 2024, 3:37 p.m. ET
Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva proved she wouldn't let anything ruin her goals at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris.
Flavia helped Team Brazil earn a historic bronze medal 48 hours after she endured an injury that would've taken a less-driven athlete out of the game.
What happened to Flavia Saraiva?
On July 30, 2024, Flavia and Team Brazil competed against Italy and the U.S. gymnastics teams for the all-around individual final. The 24-year-old competitor appeared at the final with a black eye and a bandage on her eyebrow. The injury came after Flavia fell during warm-ups moments before the final began.
"I could not see; it bled, but the team’s doctor told me everything was all right,” she recalled to the Associated Press on Tuesday. "I believe my knee hit my eye when I tripped."
Flavia noted to AP that her injury was "not the first time" she got a black eye while practicing on the bars. She also said she might "need some stitches" after only patching the cut with a bandage.
Flavia helped make history for Team Brazil after tending to her black eye.
Flavia bravely refused to let a likely painful and cosmetic injury stop her from helping her Team Brazil gain a historic win at the final by succinctly performing her floor routine and was "cautious on the bars" as not to fall again and finished off with a strong vault. The routine earned her four impressive scores, with her finishing in ninth place.
“We are warriors,” Flavia said after the impressive routine.
Flávia Saraiva🇧🇷 who is Brazil's #2 gymnast and is without exaggeration irreplaceable to this team. She suffered a facial injury during warmups, threw a band aid on it, competed through the competition and lead her country to its first ever Olympic team medal. pic.twitter.com/omD5RZPiOy
— #TheResistance (@BoneKnightmare) July 31, 2024While Simone Biles ultimately took home the gold medal for Flavia's competition, her contribution resulted in a historic day for Brazil. The country had never won a team medal in women’s gymnastics before the July win.
Despite the injury, Flavia's Instagram shows she's still having the time of her life doing what she loves.
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