Battered but unbowed: Flavia Saraiva's resilience at the Paris Olympics

It hurts to look. Brazilian gymnast Flavia Saraiva sustained a painful eye injury during the Olympic Games finals in Paris, but this didn’t stop her from supporting her team in the fight for the bronze medal.

The Olympic Games in Paris bring extremely exciting sports moments, including some dangerous ones. Athletes have to grapple not only with high temperatures (up to 30°C), but also various adversities. Flavia Saraiva competed in the women’s team gymnastics final, and despite a dangerous accident, it didn’t undermine her morale.

While performing one of the bar gymnastic routines, the 24-year-old hit her head hard on the mat, cutting her eyebrow. The concerned medical staff immediately ran to the Brazilian gymnast lying on the ground and carefully surrounded her. The injured athlete quickly got up and, despite the seriousness of the situation, she regained control.

"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 happens to me," Saraiva said, as quoted by the Associated Press.

Despite the injury, the Brazilian returned to the competition with a bandage on her face. This didn’t stop her from helping her team in the fight for the bronze medal.