Olympics viewers had nothing but respect for Simone Biles and her top rival Rebeca Andrade after the pair embraced during the vault finals.
Biles narrowly edged out the Brazilian athlete with a score of 15.3, which earned her another gold medal.
25-year-old Andrade took home silver with a score of 14.9.
‘The respect rebeca and simone have for each other as the two best gymnasts alive… simone keeps rebe striving for more and rebe is too good to let simone ever get too comfortable,’ one fan wrote on X.
‘Loved hearing Biles encourage Andrade on the beam. We need so much more of this spirit in sports,’ another chimed in.
Simone Biles and her top rival Rebeca Andrade embraced during the vault finals Saturday
It came a few days after Biles won a gold medal in the all-around final, but admitted Andrade didn’t make it easy for her
Brazil’s Rebeca Andrade forced Biles to ‘bring out the big guns,’ she confessed after her win.
‘I’m excited and proud to compete with [Andrade], but I don’t like it no more,’ Biles joked during a press conference, revealing she was forced to ‘bring out the big guns.’
‘I mean, I’m getting uncomfortable, guys. I don’t like that feeling. I was stressing,’ she went on.
‘I don’t want to compete with Rebeca no more. I’m tired. She’s way too close. I’ve never had an athlete that close, so it definitely put me on my toes and it brought up the best athlete in myself.’
Andrade reacted to Biles’ praise, telling reporters through a translator, ‘It was really cool knowing that I made her work, right? ‘It’s an honor to be able to compete next to her.’
