| Julia Soares | |
|---|---|
 Soares at the 2024 Olympic Games | |
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Full name |
Julia das Neves Botega Soares |
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Country represented |
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Born |
August 23 2005 |
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Years on National Team |
2018-present |
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Club |
CEGIN |
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Coach(es) |
Iryna Ilyashenko, Caroline Molinari |
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Current status |
Active |
Julia das Neves Botega Soares (born August 23 in Curitiba, Paraná) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast and 2024 Olympian. She has been a member of the Brazilian national gymnastics team since 2018. 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 also 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. She is a member of the Brazilian team that won a historic team bronze medal at the 2024 Olympic Games and team silver medal at the 2023 World Championships.
Junior Career[]
2018[]
In April, 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.
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. 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 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.
Senior 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. 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.
2022[]
Soares competed at the Baku World Cup in early April, winning gold on floor exercise. In July, she competed at the Pan American Championships. She helped Brazil win team gold, and qualify a full team to the World Championships. Individually, she placed sixth on floor exercise. In August, she competed at the Brazilian National Championships, winning balance beam silver, all-around and floor exercise bronze, and placed sixth on uneven bars and tenth on vault. In October, she competed at the World Championships in Liverpool, contributing to Brazil's fourth place finish in the team final, a new personal best for them.
2023[]
Soares began her season at the Stuttgart World Cup. She helped Brazil place ninth in the team final, and individually won gold on floor exercise, and placed fourth on balance beam and twelfth in the all-around. In May, she competed at the Pan American Championships in Medellin, Colombia. She helped Brazil place fourth in the team final, and individually placed seventh in the all-around, eighth on balance beam and floor exercise, and twelfth on uneven bars. At the Brazilian National Championships, she won all-around and floor exercise silver, and balance beam bronze. At the World Championships in Belgium, she helped Brazil to a historic team silver medal, their first team medal at a World Championships. Later that month, she competed at the Pan American Games in Chile, winning team silver and placing fourth on floor exercise. She finished her season at the Arthur Gander Memorial, where she won gold, and the Swiss Cup Zurich, where she won bronze.
2024[]
Soares began her season at the Baku World Cup in March, placing fifth on balance beam. At the City of Jesolo Trophy, she won team silver and tied for gold on floor exercise with compatriot Flavia Saraiva and Italy's Manila Esposito. At the Brazil Trophy in June, she won silver on balance beam and placed fourth on floor exercise. She was named to the Brazilian Olympic team.[1]
Paris Olympics[]
In qualifications, Soares competed in the fifth subdivision. She helped Brazil qualify for the team final in fourth place, and qualified to the balance beam final in eighth place. Brazil won bronze in the team final, a historic finish for a South American country, and she placed seventh on balance beam.
Post-Paris[]
Soares continued to compete after the Olympics. She competed at the Brazilian National Championships, winning the all-around. She then competed at the Arthur Gander Memorial, placing third. She also competed at the Swiss Cup, placing fourth with Caio Souza.
2025[]
Soares competed 3 events at the Brazilian Championships in 2025, placing third on beam and first on floor. She then competed at the Szombathely World Cup, placing sixth on beam and second on floor. She competed at the Jakarta World Championships, but did not make any finals.
Medal Count[]
Floor Music[]
2021-2023 - "Friend Like Me" from Aladdin
2024-2025 - "Cheia de Manias" by Raça Negra/"Milord" by Edith Piaf