Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva showed off an eye-catching accessory during the women’s team gymnastics final at the Paris Olympics on Tuesday: a bandage over her eyebrow.
How did it happen?
Saraiva sustained the injury while warming up on the uneven bars. She took a fall, which left her with a cut above her right eye. In photos, her eyebrow appeared bloody and she seemed to have a black eye.
The 24-year-old gymnast received medical attention after the scary fall and reappeared with a bandage on her brow.
“She left to get medical attention, but she is back,” NBC announcer Rich Lerner said during the broadcast. “She’s tough.”
“There is nothing worse than not just falling in warmups but blanking out and having that moment replay in your mind right before competing,” added analyst and Olympic gold medalist Laurie Hernandez.
Once bandaged up, Saraiva performed her routine on the uneven bars, scoring a strong 13.666. She went on to performed a floor routine to a French cabaret classic. Saraiva’s teammate, Rebecca Andrade, is considered a friendly rival to Team USA’s Simone Biles.
Biles appeared to be dealing with an injury of her own at the event. She had strong performances throughout the day while wearing tape around her left shin and calf.
The superstar’s personal coach, Cecile Landi, said that Biles “felt a little pain in her calf” during her floor warmup a few days ago, but that pulling out of the competition was “never in [her] mind.”
After the USA men’s gymnastics team earned its first medal in 16 years Monday in Paris, the U.S. women’s team won the gold on Tuesday.
