Where was the most decorated Brazilian woman in Olympic history born? Like Jesus, in a very humble place: in a favela on the outskirts of the great Brazilian city, São Paulo, on May 8th, 1998.   She and her seven siblings were raised by their single mother, Rosa. Yes, raised in the poverty of a favela.   From an early age, Rebeca's natural and exceptional talent for gymnastics was recognized.   Her training center was two hours from home. No, not by car! On foot. She walked there with her brother to train.   Two hours traveling to the center and two hours back home. Whether it was sunny, rainy, hot, or cold, it didn’t matter. It was mandatory to go, regardless of the conditions.   Until one day, her brother got her a bicycle. But since money was tight, the bicycle was second-hand. Well, not exactly second-hand… it was recycled. In other words, it was likely on its way to the scrapyard when they bought it. A few patches here, a few patches there, and voilà... they had a bike.   Rebeca started training at the age of four at the Bonifácio Cardoso Gymnasium through a social sports initiation project by the Guarulhos city government, in the São Paulo Metropolitan Region.   This was because her aunt noticed that she was always doing gymnastics tricks at home, and according to her aunt, Rebeca seemed to have a knack for it. So, she encouraged her to join that city project.
The brasilian who has more gold medals

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