Jojo (sesport.es.gov.br, 15 Mar 2019)

Athlete

Portuguese

Instituto Capixaba Esportivo/Clube Italo Brasileiro: Vitória, BRA

Gizela Batista [club, personal]; Marcia Naves [national]

She tore a ligament in her knee ahead of the 2020 Olympic Games, but recovered in time to compete in Tokyo. (glamour.globo.com, 14 Jul 2022)

She began training in gymnastics at age five in Pinheiros, Brazil.

"My uncle brought a CD of calypso music for our family to listen to during lunch and I choreographed a dance. He then turned to my mother and said that she should get me involved in a physical activity. My mum dreamt that I would become a ballerina, but there was only gymnastics in my school."

To compete in the individual event at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris (glamour.globo.com, 14 Jul 2022)

She trains twice a day at the Secretary of Sport and Leisure facilities in Vitoria, Brazil.

Competing at the 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo. (glamour.globo.com, 14 Jul 2022)

In 2022 she received the Brasil Olimpico [Olympic Brazil] Award as Rhythmic Gymnast of the Year from the Brazilian Olympic Committee. (es.gov.br, 16 Feb 2023)

In 2022 she was included in the Sports Walk of Fame of the city of Vitoria, Brazil. (tribunaonline.com.br, 17 Feb 2023; Instagram profile, 19 Jan 2023)

EVENT SWITCHES
She focused on individual disciplines early in her career before switching to the group event in 2020 to compete on the Brazilian national team. "The best year in my career so far [speaking in 2022] had been 2019, when the national coaches were at the national championships and spotted me. The following year there was a chance to train alongside the national team members, but in reality it was a trial. There was a chance to get into the team in both the individual or the group events and I was open for any chance that was up for grabs. I always had the mentality of seizing any opportunities. The 2020 Olympic Games had been postponed and I wanted to see how it went. If I didn't like it then I would come back. I didn't have anything to lose and it worked." After competing in the group event at the 2020 Games in Tokyo, she decided to return to individual competition. "I achieved my goal of competing at the Games. I want to come back to the individual event to try reaching the Games again." (glamour.globo.com, 14 Jul 2022)