The vault in our stars

Interviewing a jubilant Brazilian gymnastics star recently was a bittersweet experience. How much hope, and help, she has had

- Rudraneil Sengupta

If you knew my story, you'd never believe I could become the greatest Olympic athlete from Brazil," said Rebeca Andrade, 25. Speaking in Madrid, a day ahead of the Laureus World Sports Awards ceremony, she was funny, charming and heartfelt.

She won the Laureus Comeback of the Year award for recovering from three surgeries to the ACL (that all-important ligament that runs across the knee joint) to win a spate of medals at the Tokyo and Paris Olympics, and the world championships in-between.

In Paris, she was at the centre of what would become a defining moment of the Games: as she stood on the podium with her gold for the floor event, alongside the US's Simone Biles, the most decorated gymnast of all time, and Jordan Chiles, they turned to her, went down on their knees and bowed. Together, they had formed the first-ever all-black podium in Olympic gymnastics.