The Judo Grand Prix dispute in Almada, Portugal, ended this Sunday, January 29, with podiums for Brazil and Portugal. The two countries won three medals each in the competition held between January 27 and 29, 2023. It was the first international event of the modality in 2023.
The experienced Rafael Silva , bronze in London 2012 and Rio 2016 , won another podium in his career. He defeated also Brazilian João Cesarino in the dispute for the bronze medal in the men’s +100 kg category. The athlete reached the semifinals, but was defeated by Georgian Saba Inaneishvili for a place in the final.
Patrícia Sampaio won gold for Portugal by defeating Yelyzaveta Lytvynenko in the -78kg category final with three shidôs (punishments) for her opponent. Rochele Nunes , on the other hand, took silver after losing to Kim Hayun in the women’s +78kg. The Portuguese woman even had a waza-ari, but suffered an arm immobilization and was unable to recover in time.
On the last day of the tournament, five Brazilian judokas were eliminated in the round of 16 and were left out of the repechage: Marcelo Gomes and Giovani Ferreira in the -90kg category and Eduardo Bettoni in the men’s -100kg category, Samanta Soares in the -78kg category and Giovanna Santos in the women’s +78kg category .
The Grand Prix de Judo dispute in Portugal is the first international competition of the sport in 2023. The event counts points for the ranking, which will determine the list of classifieds for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games .
🥇 𝗠𝗘𝗗𝗔𝗟𝗛𝗔 𝗗𝗘 𝗢𝗨𝗥𝗢 🥇
Patrícia Sampaio conquista o 1.º lugar na prova de -78kg no Grand Prix de Portugal de Judo!
Saiba mais sobre o dia dos portugueses em https://t.co/CzoCXv7av2#COPortugal | 📷 Tamara Kulumbegashvili / IJF pic.twitter.com/o2XhkMWBQd— Comité Olímpico de Portugal (COP) (@COPPORTUGAL) January 29, 2023
Portugal ends participation with two golds and one silver
The two podiums on the last day of the Judo Grand Prix in Portugal ended the home team’s participation in the competition in style. The Portuguese delegation leaves the tournament with two gold medals and one silver.
In addition to Rochele Nunes and Patrícia Sampaio’s medals, Portugal also won in the women’s -63kg category. Judoka Bárbara Timo defeated Brazilian Gabriella Moraes in the final held on Saturday, January 28th. The athlete from Brazil suffered three punishments throughout the fight.
Another outstanding campaign in the host country was with Catarina Costa in the women’s -48kg category. Tournament champion in 2022, the athlete fought for the bronze medal, but lost to the Spanish Mireia Lapuerta Comas. In total, Portugal took 39 athletes to dispute the Grand Prix at home.
É BROOOOOOOOOOONZE! 🥉🥋
É de @rafaelsilvababy, no GP de Almada 🇵🇹! No duríssino combate 🇧🇷, o Baby levou a melhor sobre João Cesarino!
Fechamos o Grand Prix da melhor forma! Oss 👊 pic.twitter.com/xsBVFSetg8
— Time Brasil (@timebrasil) January 29, 2023
Rafaela Silva and Gabriella Moraes win silver for Brazil
Brazil also says goodbye to the Judo Grand Prix in Portugal with three medals. Rafael Silva’s bronze joins the silver medals won by Rafaela Silva and Gabriella Moraes in the first two days of competition, January 27th and 28th.
The first medal was won by Rafaela Silva , Olympic champion in 2016. She advanced to the decision in the women’s -57kg category, but was defeated by Huh Mimi, from the Republic of Korea. Gabriella Moraes, in turn, was second in the women’s -63kg category after losing to Bárbara Timo in the final.
Brazil took a delegation of 25 athletes to compete in the Judo Grand Prix. The team was made up of young people chosen after the national selection, held in November 2022, and renowned names. Besides Rafaela Silva and Rafael Silva, the judoka Ketleyn Quadros , bronze in Beijing 2008 , was also present
