Julia Soares

Julia Soares
Soares in August 2024
Personal information
Full name	Julia das Neves Botega Soares
Nickname(s)	Juju
Born	(2005-08-23) 23 August 2005 (age 19) Curitiba, Brazil
Gymnastics career
Discipline	Women's artistic gymnastics
Country represented	Brazil (2018–present)
Club	Esporte Clube Pinheiros (ECP) [1] [2]
Head coach(es)	Iryna Ilyashenko
Assistant coach(es)	Caroline Molinari
Medal record Women's artistic gymnastics Representing   Brazil Olympic Games 2024 Paris Team World Championships 2023 Antwerp Team Pan American Games 2023 Santiago Team Pan American Championships 2021 Rio de Janeiro Team 2022 Rio de Janeiro Team 2021 Rio de Janeiro Balance Beam South American Games 2022 Asunción Team 2022 Asunción All-around 2022 Asunción Balance Beam 2022 Asunción Floor Exercise South American Championships 2021 San Juan Team 2021 San Juan All-around 2021 San Juan Balance Beam 2021 San Juan Floor Exercise 2021 San Juan Uneven Bars FIG World Cup Event 1st 2nd 3rd Apparatus World Cup 1 0 0

Julia das Neves Botega Soares (born 23 August 2005) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast and a member of the Brazilian national gymnastics team. ^[3] Soares represented her country at the 2019 Junior World Championships, where she was a finalist on the balance beam. ^[4] 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. ^[5] 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. ^[6] She was part of the silver medal-winning Brazilian team at the 2023 World Championships, and of the bronze medal-winning team at the 2024 Paris Olympics.

Early life

Soares was born on 23 August 2005 in Curitiba, and grew up in nearby Colombo. She took up gymnastics at age four, inspired by her older sister Giovanna. ^[7] Her role model in gymnastics is fellow Brazilian artistic gymnast Daniele Hypólito. ^[8]

Junior gymnastics career

2018

In April 2018, Soares competed at the City of Jesolo Trophy in Italy, 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. ^[9]

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 and Christal Bezerra. ^[10] 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. ^[4] 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. ^[9]

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. She finished her 2019 season by winning four gold medals at the Brazilian Junior Championships. ^[9]

Soares competing in the balance beam final at the 2019 Junior World Championships

Senior gymnastics career

2021

Soares began competing as a senior in 2021. At the 2021 Pan American Championships held in Rio de Janeiro, she helped Brazil win the gold medal in the team final, and also earned an individual bronze in the balance beam final. ^[5] 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 international competition. ^[6]

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

2023

At the DTB Pokal Stuttgart, Soares won the gold medal on floor exercise. ^[11] In October, Soares competed at the World Championships along with teammates Rebeca Andrade, Jade Barbosa, Lorrane Oliveira and Flávia Saraiva. The team took the silver medal behind the United States — Brazil's first team medal in World Championship history. ^{[12] [13]} Later that month, Soares competed at the Pan American Games, where the Brazilian team once again took silver behind the United States. ^[14] Individually, she finished fourth in the floor final. ^[15]

2024

Soares competed at the 2024 City of Jesolo Trophy where she helped Brazil place second behind Italy; individually she won gold on floor exercise, tied with Flávia Saraiva and Manila Esposito. ^[16] At the Brazil Trophy she won silver on balance beam. ^[17]

Soares in October 2024

Soares was selected to represent Brazil at the 2024 Olympic Games alongside Rebeca Andrade, Flávia Saraiva, Lorrane Oliveira, and Jade Barbosa. ^[18] During the qualification round Soares competed on balance beam and floor exercise, helping Brazil qualify to the team final. Individually she qualified to the balance beam final and was the second reserve for the floor exercise final. ^[19] During the team final she competed once again on balance beam and floor exercise, helping Brazil win the bronze medal, their first Olympic team medal in history. ^[20] During the balance beam final Soares fell off the apparatus and finished seventh. ^[21]

After the Olympic Games Soares competed at the Brazilian Championships where she placed first. ^[22] She finished out the year competing at the Arthur Gander Memorial, where she placed third behind Kaylia Nemour and Karina Schönmaier, and the Swiss Cup where she was partnered with Caio Souza. The pair finished the competition in fourth place. ^[23]

Eponymous skills

Soares has a balance beam mount named after her in the Code of Points. ^[24]

Apparatus	Name	Description	Difficulty [a]	Added to Code of Points
Balance beam	Soares	From rear stand, flic flac with ½ turn (180°) to candle position, ending in front support	C (0.3)	2021 Pan American Championships

1. Valid for the 2025–2028 Code of Points

Competitive history

Year	Event	Team	AA	VT	UB	BB	FX
Junior
2018	City of Jesolo Trophy	7	34
	Brazilian Championships
	Brazilian Event Championships				5		5
	South American Junior Championships					4
	Brazilian Junior Championships
2019	WOGA Classic		7
	Brazilian Event Championships		5
	Junior World Championships	7	15			7	R1
	Brazilian Championships
	South American Junior Championships
	Brazilian Junior Championships
Senior
2021
	Pan American Championships
	Brazilian Championships		4		6
	South American Championships
2022	Baku World Cup
	Gymnasiade	4	6			7	6
	Pan American Championships						6
	Brazilian Championships				6
	South American Games
	World Championships	4
2023	DTB Pokal Team Challenge	9				4
	Brazil Trophy
	Pan American Championships	5	7		12	8	8
	Brazilian Championships				6
	World Championships
	Pan American Games						4
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup
2024	Baku World Cup					5
	City of Jesolo Trophy
	Brazil Trophy						6
	Olympic Games					7	R2
	Brazilian Championships				WD	WD	WD
	Arthur Gander Memorial
	Swiss Cup	4

References

1. "A ginástica do Pinheiros ganha uma estrela: Júlia Soares". Esporte Clube Pinheiros (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
2. "Júlia Soares: "É um grande desafio vestir a camisa do Pinheiros"". Esporte Clube Pinheiros (in Portuguese). Retrieved 17 March 2025.
3. "SELEÇÃO GINÁSTICA ARTÍSTICA FEMININA". Brazilian Gymnastics Federation (CBG) (in Portuguese). Archived from the original on June 29, 2014. Retrieved June 9, 2021.
4. "1st FIG Artistic Gymnastics Junior World Championships – Results Book". International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). Retrieved June 9, 2021.
5. "REBECA CONQUISTA VAGA PARA OS JOGOS OLÍMPICOS DE TÓQUIO". Brazilian Gymnastics Federation (CBG) (in Portuguese). June 6, 2021.
6. "JÚLIA SOARES PRESTES A HOMOLOGAR ELEMENTO COM SEU NOME NO CÓDIGO DA FIG". Brazilian Gymnastics Federation (CBG) (in Portuguese). June 7, 2021.
7. "Thais Fidélis e Ana Luiza Lima brilham no Brasileiro de Especialistas". Esporte Alternativo (in Portuguese). August 18, 2018.
8. "SOARES Julia – FIG Athlete Profile". International Gymnastics Federation (FIG). June 6, 2019.
9. "Julia Soares – Competition Results". The Gymternet. 11 January 2020. Retrieved June 10, 2021.
10. "The Junior World Championships Women's Master Team List". The Gymternet. June 5, 2019.
11. "2023 DTB Pokal Team Challenge Results". The Gymternet. March 20, 2023.
12. "United States, Brazil, and France comprise historic women's team podium at 2023 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships". Gymnastics Now. 4 October 2023.
13. "Simone Biles magic leads USA to world gymnastics championships gold medal". The Guardian . 4 October 2023.
14. "Santiago 2023 – U.S. women's artistic gymnastics team golden again at Pan Am Games". International Olympic Committee . 23 October 2023.
15. "2023 Pan American Games Results". The Gymternet. 26 October 2023.
16. "2024 City of Jesolo Results". The Gymternet. April 22, 2024.
17. "2024 Brazil Trophy Results". The Gymternet. June 24, 2024.
18. "Seleção de ginástica abre embarque do Brasil rumo às Olimpíadas de Paris" [Brazil's gymnastics team opens its journey to the Paris Olympics]. Grupo Globo (in Brazilian Portuguese). July 6, 2024.
19. "2024 Olympic Games Results". The Gymternet. August 5, 2024.
20. "Brazilian women's team wins bronze in artistic gymnastics in Paris". Agência Brasil . 31 July 2024.
21. "Gymnasts notice something unusual during balance beam final at 2024 Olympics". NBC Los Angeles . August 5, 2024.
22. "2024 Brazilian Championships Results". The Gymternet. September 22, 2024.
23. "Morgane Osyssek-Reimer and Léo Saladino win historic gold at the Swiss Cup Zürich". International Olympic Committee . November 9, 2024.
24. "Women's Artistic Gymnastics – 2025-2028 Code of Points" (PDF). International Gymnastics Federation . 22 April 2024. Retrieved 2 February 2025.

External links

• Media related to Julia Soares at Wikimedia Commons
• Julia Soares at the International Gymnastics Federation