Gymnast Rebeca Andrade stands proud at end of her breakthrough year | Tumaini Carayol

The 22-year-old became Brazil’s first female Olympic gymnastics medallist at the Tokyo Games and has just become world vault champion

There has never been a gymnastics world championships quite like the event that unfolded at the weekend in Kitakyushu, a northern city on Kyushu Island in Japan. In a sport so intense that it is difficult for gymnasts to maintain their peak physical form and workload for extended periods, another major championship so soon after the Olympics forced many gymnasts to make a decision on their participation for an event that is usually the focal point of their year.

For most, the choice was simple: Simone Biles and her teammates are currently trawling across the United States on her gymnastics tour, some are simply back home relaxing with an eye on the future and others have retired after a gruelling four years. To some onlookers, this world championships carried little relevance due to its depleted field, an event without all of the best gymnasts in the world, but after a week of competition Rebeca Andrade indicated she could well be the leading all-around gymnast in the coming years.