FLAVIA SARAIVA suffered a gruesome black eye before helping Brazil pip Team GB to bronze in the artistic gymnastics team final.
The athlete was practising on the uneven bars when she fell after losing her grip on the high bar.
EPAFlavia Saraiva suffered a gruesome black eye[/caption]
BBCShe fell while practising on the uneven bars[/caption]
Saraiva, 24, hit the mat very hard and was left with a cut above her eye, which started to bleed.
Her coach was quick to check on her and make sure she was okay before she rolled off the mat.
She was then checked over by the medical team, who patched up the wound above her right eye, which had started to swell.
Saravia did not let the blow hinder her performance as she helped Brazil to a score of 164.497.
The score was good enough for a bronze medal as it beat Team GB‘s total of 164.263 points.
She was asked about the fall after the final, in which she insisted that she was a “warrior”.
She said: “I could not see, it bled, but the team’s doctor told me everything was all right.
“I believe my knee hit my eye when I tripped.
“It’s not the first time it happened to me. We are warriors.”
“When I realized I was on the floor, lying down with my knee in my face.
“I just rolled over so Rebeca could warm up.
” said, ‘guys, where am I?’. Then Chico said, ‘it’s bleeding, it’s bleeding’. I put my hand on my face and my eye was bleeding, I didn’t understand anything.
“Then he asked if I was warm. Then I said, ‘now I’m awake’.”
The event was won by Simone Biles and the US team with a huge total of 171.296.
As a result, Biles is now the nation’s most decorated Olympic gymnast, with eight medals, five of which are gold.
The Italians claimed the second spot for their first silver in the event since 1928.
