REBECA ANDRADE’S COMEBACK CROWNS A SPARKLING WEEKEND OF GYMNASTICS IN RIO

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The 2026 Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships delivered exactly the kind of fairy tale Brazilian fans had been dreaming of, as Rebeca Andrade closed out her long-awaited return to competition with vault gold on home soil — while Argentina and Colombia each walked away from Rio with results to be proud of.

The Queen Returns — and Wins

After 22 months away from elite competition, the last of them since the podium embrace heard around the world at the Paris 2024 Olympics, Rebeca Andrade stepped back onto the competition floor in Rio de Janeiro and reminded everyone why she’s Brazil’s greatest Olympian of all time. Competing on vault only, Andrade topped qualification with a 14.549 average — the best score in the world so far in 2026 — and carried that form into Sunday’s final, where she stuck a clean Yurchenko double full for 14.433 before adding a 13.700 Lopez for a winning 14.266 average.

It was a deeply personal moment for the 27-year-old, who admitted the road back wasn’t easy. “I’m proud of myself for my return, for the way it went. We’ll take it step by step. I think the biggest challenge is confidence; this return was hard-won, very difficult, but it has been rewarding,” she said. “I thought I would be retired!”

Canada’s Lia-Monica Fontaine, the reigning world silver medalist on the apparatus, pushed Andrade all the way with a 14.249, while the United States’ Claire Pease completed the podium at 13.916. Andrade’s vault score in the team competition also helped power Brazil to the team silver medal and a ticket to the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam.

Argentina Climbs the Podium

Argentina left Rio with one of its best showings in recent memory. The team finished fourth in the women’s standings with 154.397 points, comfortably enough to punch its ticket to Rotterdam alongside the United States, Brazil, Canada and Mexico. The headline moment, though, belonged to Isabella Ajalla, who claimed gold on balance beam with a composed 13.700 to give Argentina its lone individual title of the championships — a statement result for a program on the rise.

Colombia’s Men Shine Bright

If Argentina’s story was about the beam, Colombia’s was about depth on the men’s side. The Colombian squad finished as runners-up in the men’s team event with a 241.594 total, trailing only champions Canada (243.026) and finishing well clear of the United States and Brazil — enough to secure a World Championships berth.

Individually, it was an all-Colombian battle for all-around gold. Nineteen-year-old Camilo Vera produced his best rotation of the day on horizontal bar, a 14.200, to leapfrog teammate and reigning Paris 2024 horizontal bar silver medalist Angel Barajas in the final rotation, taking the title 81.265 to 80.765 after Barajas had a costly fall on that same apparatus. Barajas still had plenty to celebrate, adding a floor exercise bronze (13.900) to round out a big weekend for Colombian gymnastics.

Looking Ahead

With team and individual qualification spots for the 2026 World Championships in Rotterdam now secured, all eyes turn to October — but for one weekend in Rio, it was Rebeca Andrade’s comeback, Isabella Ajalla’s beam gold, and Colombia’s one-two finish on the men’s all-around that had the Americas talking.

Relive every moment of the 2026 Pan American Artistic Gymnastics Championships on the Panam Sports Channel app — your home for the best of Pan American sports.