Júlia das Neves Botega Soares (born 23 August, 2005) is a Brazilian

artistic gymnast Artistic gymnastics is a discipline of gymnastics in which athletes perform short routines on different apparatuses. The sport is governed by the Fédération Internationale de Gymnastique (FIG), which designs the Code of Points and regulates ...

and a member of the Brazilian national gymnastics team. Soares represented her country at the 2019 Junior World Championships, where she was a finalist on the balance beam. She made her international senior debut at the 2021 Pan American Championships where she helped Brazil win the team gold, and also took an individual bronze medal on the balance beam. She debuted a new skill, a candle mount with a half twist on the balance beam, which was named after her in the Code of Points.

Early life

Soares was born on 23 August 2005 in

Curitiba Curitiba () is the capital and largest city in the state of Paraná (state), Paraná in Brazil. The city's population was 1,948,626 , making it the List of cities in Brazil by population, eighth most populous city in Brazil and the largest in ...

, and grew up in nearby

Colombo Colombo ( ; si, කොළඹ, translit=Koḷam̆ba, ; ta, கொழும்பு, translit=Koḻumpu, ) is the executive and judicial capital and largest city of Sri Lanka by population. According to the Brookings Institution, Colombo me ...

. She took up gymnastics at age four, inspired by her older sister Giovanna. Her role model in gymnastics is fellow Brazilian artistic gymnast Daniele Hypólito.

Career

Junior

2018

In April 2018, Soares competed at the

City of Jesolo Trophy The City of Jesolo Trophy is an annual women's gymnastics competition held in Jesolo, Italy. There are competitions for the senior division and junior division. The United States won the senior team competition every year from 2010 to 2017.

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

, contributing to Brazil’s seventh place finish. She then won gold in the all-around and on the balance beam at the Brazilian Championships. In October 2018, she became the South American junior champion on the balance beam. At the Brazilian Junior Championships, she placed third in the all-around and won the gold on the balance beam, also taking the silver on vault, bars and floor.

2019

In 2019, Soares placed fifth in the all-around at the Brazilian Event Championships, and took the bronze in both the balance beam and the floor exercise finals in a field of mixed junior and senior competitors. Soares was selected to the Brazilian team for the 2019 Junior World Championships alongside

Ana Luiza Lima Ana Luiza Pires Lima (born 8 August 2005) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast and a member of the Brazilian national gymnastics team. Lima represented her country at the 2019 Junior World Championships. She made her international senior debut at th ...

and

Christal Bezerra Christal Silva e Bezerra (born 21 August 2004) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast and a member of the Brazilian national team. She competed at the 2019 Junior World Championships, and was part of the gold medal-winning team at the 2021 Pan Ameri ...

. She placed 15th in the individual all-around and contributed to the Brazilian team’s seventh place finish in a field of 29 teams. She also qualified to the balance beam final, where she finished seventh. Soares went on to compete at the Brazilian Championships, becoming the junior national champion in the all-around as well as on the balance beam and on the floor exercise. At the 2019 South American Junior Championships in Cali, Colombia, Soares earned the bronze medal in the all-around, the silver on beam, gold on floor, and contributed to the Brazilian team’s second place finish behind

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

. She finished her 2019 season by winning four gold medals at the Brazilian Junior Championships.

Senior

2021

Soares began competing as a senior in 2021. At the 2021 Pan American Championships held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

, she helped Brazil win the gold medal in the team final, and also earned an individual bronze in the balance beam final. In addition, Soares performed a candle mount with a half twist on the balance beam, which was named after her in the Code of Points, as she was the first gymnast to successfully perform the skill at an

FIG The fig is the edible fruit of ''Ficus carica'', a species of small tree in the flowering plant family Moraceae. Native to the Mediterranean and western Asia, it has been cultivated since ancient times and is now widely grown throughout the world ...

international competition.

2022

At the 2022 Pan American Championships Soares helped the Brazilian team win gold and qualify to the World Championships in Liverpool. In september, she competed in the

South American Games The South American Games (also known as ODESUR Games; Spanish: ''Juegos Suramericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos''), formerly the Southern Cross Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Cruz del Sur'') is a regional multi-sport event held between nati ...

, in which she won the gold medal in team and all-around finals, in addition to balance beam and floor exercise.

Eponymous skills

Competitive history

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Soares, Júlia 2005 births 21st-century Brazilian women Brazilian female artistic gymnasts Competitors at the 2022 South American Games Living people Originators of elements in artistic gymnastics South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in gymnastics Sportspeople from Curitiba