Who Is Jade Barbosa?
Brazilian artistic gymnast Jade Barbosa competes worldwide.
Jade began competing in gymnastics at the age of 11, and her first taste of success came in 2003 when she won the children’s division at the Brazilian National Championships.
Short Career of Jade Barbosa
Jade Barbosa didn’t gain much recognition, though, until she competed in the Pan American Games in 2007. The performance marked the start of her remarkable gymnastics career.
Since then, she has won more than 11 gold medals, and two bronze medals at the World Championships, and has competed for her nation in the Olympic Games in 2008 and 2016.
But things weren’t always simple for Jade. Along with suffering severe injuries throughout her career, she also lost her mother when she was nine years old.
Body Measurements of Jade Barbosa
| Full Name: | Jade Barbosa |
| YEAR OF BIRTH: | 1991 |
| ERA: | 2010 |
| PROFESSION: | Professional Gymnast |
| NATIONALITY: | Brazilian |
| WEIGHT: | Below 115 pounds (52.2 kg) |
| HEIGHT: | 4’11” (150cm) |
Accomplishments
World Championships
- 2007 Stuttgart All-around, Bronze Medal
- 2010 Rotterdam Vault, Bronze Medal
Pan American Games
- 2007 Rio de Janeiro Vault, Gold Medal
- 2007 Rio de Janeiro Team, Silver Medal
- 2007 Rio de Janeiro Floor exercise, Bronze Medal
Pan American Championships
- 2005 Rio de Janeiro Team, Silver Medal
South American Games
- 2006 Buenos Aires Team, Gold Medal
- 2006 Buenos Aires All-around, Gold Medal
- 2006 Buenos Aires Vault, Gold Medal
- 2006 Buenos Aires Balance beam, Gold Medal
- 2006 Buenos Aires Floor exercise, Gold Medal
- 2014 Santiago Team, Gold Medal
- 2014 Santiago All-around, Gold Medal
- 2014 Santiago Vault, Gold Medal
- 2014 Santiago Uneven bars, Silver Medal
South American Championships
- 2015 Cali Team, Gold Medal
- 2015 Cali Uneven bars, Gold Medal
Jade’s Gymnastic Scores
2006–08 Code of Points
- Vault: 15.95 (team qualifications, 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships)
- Bars: 15.25 (team qualifications, 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships)
- Beam: 15.7 (all-around final, 2007 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships)
- Floor: 15.325 (team qualifications, 2007 Pan American Games)
2009–12 Code of Points
- Vault: 14.966 (vault final, 2012 Gymnastics Olympic Test Event)
- Bars: 13.650 (team final, 2011 Brazilian Nationals)
- Beam: 14.800 (team final, 2011 Brazilian Nationals)
- Floor: 14.000 (all-around final, 2011 Brazil Trophy)
Biography
Initial Phases
Brazil’s Rio de Janeiro is where Jade Fernandes Barbosa was born and reared. Jade had a strong interest in gymnastics since she was a young girl.
Early in her life, she had to deal with various hardships, which kept her from pursuing her ambition wholeheartedly. Jade’s mother passed away from an aneurysm when she was nine.
a disorder that (rarely) results in a blood vessel rupture, which can lead to serious injury or, as in the case of Jade’s mother, death.
Jade returned to gymnastics two years after her trauma recovery was complete. She took part in her first tournament, the kids’ division of the Youth Games.
In the competition, she came in without any medals. Her first achievement occurred in 2003 when she was named the overall individual champion in the children’s division of the Brazilian National Championships.
Jade earned three medals for three separate categories the following year at the Pan American Youth Championships held in El Salvador. Her performance in the ground category, where she won the gold medal, was her best.
Senior Division
Jade competed in her first senior event, the Brazilian National Championships, in 2005. In both the general category and the jump, the athlete was awarded a silver medal.
At the age of 16, she competed with the Brazilian senior team for the first time in her career as she took Daiane dos Santos’ place at Pre-Pan. But she had only just begun.
Jade accomplished another significant feat the following year. The title of “Sportswoman of the Year” for Brazil was bestowed upon her in 2007, replacing gymnasts Las Souza and Daiane dos Santos who had previously won it. Jade remarked that even at the age of 17, she had “huge shoes to fill.”
World Championships of 2007
The Brazilian won her first international medal as a senior in 2007. She participated in the Cottbus World Cup that year and won the vaulting silver medal in Germany.
Jade competed in the Pan American Games in the summer of 2007 and finished fourth in the all-around competition. Jade competed in the vault finals the following day and won with a stellar score of 14.912.
She won first place at the Games, making history as the first non-American woman to do so. She finished third in the floor competition, just ahead of Rebecca Bross and Shawn Johnson.
Jade took part in her first World Championship three months after the Pan American Games. Overall, she finished in a tie for third place with Italy’s Vanessa Ferrari.
Her scores on the beam, floor, vault, and bars were 15.7, 14.0, 15.9, and 14.95 respectively. Jade placed fifth in the vault finals, behind the United States, Romania, Italy, and China.
Jade won the Brazilian senior all-around title in 2007 by defeating Daniele Hypólito.
Olympics in 2008
At the Cottbus World Cup, Jade began the year with two silver medals—one on the floor and the other on the vault. She then began putting together her World Cup preparations for Moscow, Russia.
Jade returned in her greatest shape yet four months later and executed a double-twisting Yurchenko vault. She tied Russian dancer Anna Pavlova for the gold medal after her performance.
Jade did not have a lot of time to relax after winning the gold medal at the World Cup. A month later, she competed in the Brazilian National Championships, winning a silver medal.
Jade assisted her team at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 to make it to the finals, where they finished eighth.
Injury and Recovery
Jade had sustained a terrible injury following the Olympics. She spent several months in a wheelchair as a result of the awkward landing on her ankle.
Jade returned in 2009 and took home the floor gold medal at the Nationals. Her performance following the injury gave the impression that she had never been away. Her posture was flawless.
Olympic Qualifying for 2012
Jade participated in the Rotterdam World Championships in 2010. She finished third in the vault final and fifteenth overall.
She competed at another World Championships a year later before injuring her ankle on the second vault. Jade was unable to assist her country’s team any longer, and she watched as Brazil was disqualified from the 2012 Olympics.
However, because of some unanticipated events, Brazil was given a second chance to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games. They were successful in doing so this time.
But not everyone had a smooth journey to the Olympics. Conflicts surrounding her contract with the Brazilian federation prevented Jade from making the Olympic team.
During that time, she also experienced several injuries that kept her from competing for nearly three years.
Years Later
In 2015, Jade made her come back to competitive gymnastics following many knee surgeries. With an overall score of 55.623 and the hope that her main injuries were finally behind her, Jade assisted her team in earning a spot in the 2016 Summer Olympics.
For the all-around final on August 11th, 2016, Flávia Saraiva took Jade’s position. She then completed the balance beam with a score of 13.700 before getting hurt again. Jade temporarily withdrew from the scene after the sad circumstances.
Jade has managed to become one of the most recognizable athletes from Brazil despite the wounds.
Nutrition
Jade Barbosa was on a tight, 900-calorie diet as she got ready for the 2008 Olympics in Beijing. Naturally, this kind of diet can only be maintained for a very short time, but for the Brazilian, it had tremendous advantages. She briefly exhibited greater speed, agility, and strength.
Jade claimed that the only foods and beverages she consumed at the time were water and unsweetened fruit juices and that she only consumed salads, fruits, and yogurt.
Jade normally consumes about 1,600 calories when she isn’t training for a competition. She occasionally prefers eating less wholesome meals. Burgers and cookies are a couple of her favorites.
What Jade Barbosa Can Teach Us?
Jade Barbosa had to through harsh times beginning in her early years. She needed to have the courage to pick herself up after her mother passed away and keep working toward her goal of being an excellent gymnast.
Jade Barbosa not only accomplished this with success, but she also rose to become a beloved icon in the process.
She sustained numerous injuries during her gymnast career, which would have caused some individuals to give up. But Jade was wiser than that. No matter how many challenges she had to overcome along the way, she never stopped trying to be the best.
For anyone who is dealing with injuries or has been in a position similar to Jade’s, her tale is a wonderfully inspiring source of inspiration.