Jade Barbosa and Flávia Saraiva, teammates on the Brazilian women's national gymnastics team, reunited this weekend to celebrate the former's nuptials. In a video posted Saturday to both of their Instagram accounts, Barbosa is seen preparing to throw her bouquet. Saraiva's in the background, her heels exchanged for slides and a drink in hand. Her other hand is on her hip as she gazes toward the scrum ensuing over the tossed flowers. As the lucky recipient cheers and hugs Barbosa, Saraiva raises her glass, looks dead into the camera and smirks.
They captioned the video, "Enquanto umas caçam…" which roughly translates to "while some go hunting..."
The video is, in a word, iconic.
Of the many joys the 2024 Olympics brought me, chief among them was being introduced to the female gymnasts of Brazil—Saraiva and Barbosa, Rebeca Andrade, and Lorrane Oliveira. Their stories were all incredible yes, as were their gravity-defying feats. Seeing Andrade and Simone Biles on a podium together, two black women at the absolute height of their sport, left me both delighted and moved.
But what struck me the most about the Brazilian team, besides their obvious talent, was just how glamorous they all were; how, colloquially, not a single one of their face cards ever declined. Saraiva and her teammastes share the same ineffable quality that Biles has, a star power that's just as captivating as their athletic prowess. What's even better is, if this video is anything to go by, including her thumbs up near the end, Saraiva knows it.
