A Brazilian Olympic medallist went viral this week after fans discovered her profile on the popular dating app Tinder.
Flavia Saraiva, a 24-year-old gymnast who won a bronze medal in the women’s artistic team all-around event in Paris, described herself in Portuguese as a “good person” who is not looking for anything serious, “but it depends,” reports Britain’s Daily Mail.
On Tuesday, a representative for Saraiva confirmed the dating profile is hers, according to Brazilian online newspaper Metropoles.
Brazilians shared their discovery on social media, with many hoping to connect with the decorated gymnast.
“I really want to match with her,” said one person on X, while another commented, “OMG I’m going to have to pay for the plus to see if I can get a match.”
“I discovered that Flavia Saraiva is on Tinder only after deleting my account,” a third person wrote.
Saraiva also made headlines during the Olympic Games when she suffered a cut over her right eye while warming up on the uneven bars.
“Despite a heavy fall during warm-ups, artistic gymnast Flavia Saraiva bounced back to help Brazil secure bronze in the team all-around final! Going home with a bandage and a historic medal for her country.”
The young gymnast is no stranger to social media as well. She has more than 5.5 million followers on her Instagram account where she posts updates regularly.
For fans interested in her next competition, she is expected to participate in a major gymnastics event in Brazil next month.
After going viral at the Olympics in Paris this summer and then winning a medal, Ilona Maher is making waves once again.
The U.S. rugby who helped lead the team to an improbable bronze medal is adding another claim to fame: SI Swimsuit cover model.
Maher posed with the medal for the outlet’s digital September issue and is featured on the cover.
“At just 28 years old, Ilona Maher has already made a name for herself both on and off the rugby field,” SI Swimsuit posted on Instagram with the cover shot. “The Vermont native, who led Team USA to its first bronze #Olympic medal in rugby sevens at the Paris games earlier this summer, is breaking the stereotype of what it means to be a female athlete.”
The tagline reads “Beast, Beauty, Brains.” and features Maher in a dark maroon two-piece bikini while standing on a dock.
“I was always like, you know, called masculine or whatever,” Maher told SI. “But I never felt that way. But I don’t think you’re going to bully the girl who could probably beat you up in a rage. I love that (rugby) showed me what I can do. It showed me how capable my body is and it’s not just like a tool to be looked at and objectified.”
Maher has been a hit on social media, sharing several clips while she was in Paris for the Summer Games. Since the Olympics, she has seen her follower count rise and now boasts more than 6.1 million across Instagram and TikTok.
Last month, before the rugby star left for the Games, she fired back at an online troll who commented, “I bet that person has a 30% BMI.”
“Hi, thank you for this comment. I think you were trying to roast me, but this is actually a fact,” Maher said in a video response. “I do have a BMI of 30. Well, 29.3 to be exact.
“I’ve been considered overweight my whole life. In middle school, elementary school, and high school, I was always considered overweight.
“I’ve said it before, I’m 5-foot-10, 200 pounds, and I have about — and this is an estimate — about 170 pounds of lean mass on me. Do that math in your head. You probably can’t,” Maher added.
“That’s pretty crazy, right? And that BMI doesn’t really tell you what I can do; It doesn’t tell you what I do on the field; How fit I am. It’s just a couple of numbers put together. It doesn’t tell you how much muscle I have, or anything like that. So yeah, I do have a BMI of 30. I am considered overweight.
“But alas, I’m going to the Olympics — and you’re not,” Maher concluded.
After taking home a bronze medal, we think Maher has silenced her critics.