Júlia Soares

Julia das Neves Botega Soares (born 23 August 2005) is a Brazilian artistic gymnast 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. 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. Her role model in gymnastics is fellow Brazilian artistic gymnast Daniele Hypólito.

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.

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. 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. 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. Later that month, Soares competed at the Pan American Games, where the Brazilian team once again took silver behind the United States. Individually, she finished fourth in the floor final.

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. At the Brazil Trophy she won silver on balance beam.

Soares was selected to represent Brazil at the 2024 Olympic Games alongside Rebeca Andrade, Flávia Saraiva, Lorrane Oliveira, and Jade Barbosa. 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. 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. During the balance beam final Soares fell off the apparatus and finished seventh.

After the Olympic Games, Soares competed at the Brazilian Championships where she placed first. 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.

2025 In September, Soares competed at the Szombathely World Challenge Cup, performing on balance beam and floor exercise. She qualified for both finals and won the silver medal on floor. Soares competed on balance beam and floor exercise during the qualification round, but did not advance to any finals. Apparatus Name Description Difficulty Added to Code of PointsBalance 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

Competitive history

+Competitive history of Julia Soares at the senior levelYearEvent 2021Pan 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 Brazilian Championships Arthur Gander Memorial Swiss Cup 4 2025 Brazilian Championships Szombathely World Challenge Cup 6 World Championships 73 46 2026 Osijek World Cup R1 Pan American Championships 5