Brazil Arrives This Thursday in El Salvador for the Pan-American Open
The competition will be held on 14th and 15th June and 27 Brazilian athletes will go into action.
June 12th is the Brazilian Valentine's Day and the first day Brazil competes in the 2014 FIFA World Cup. But for the 27 Brazilian judokas who will compete next weekend in the Pan American Open from El Salvador this will be a common day, as they will board for a new competition. The athletes who are leaving Sao Paulo to San Salvador are the following ones: Nathália Brigida (48kg), Jessica Pereira (52kg), Rafaela Barbosa (52kg), Eleudis Valentine (52kg), Flavia Gomes (57kg), Claudirene Cezar (+78 kg), Allan Kuwabara (60kg) Rafael Barbosa (60kg), Vinicius Leal Sakamoto (66kg), Lucas Bernardo (66kg), Rayfan Barbosa (66kg), Adriano Rodrigues (66kg), Mauro Moura (73kg), Walbercy Aiva (73kg), Stanley Torres (73kg), Gustavo Assisi (81kg), Ricardo Serrão (81kg), Milton Miranda (81kg), Eduardo Bettoni (90kg), João Gabriel Schlittler (100kg) and Ruan Isquierdo (+100 kg).
Katherine Campos (63kg), Raquel Silva (52kg), Barbara Timo (70kg), Leandro Cunha (73kg), Renan Nunes (100kg) and Walter Santos (+100 kg), who competed last weekend in the Grand Prix of Havana as well as the technical committee board directly from the Caribbean island to the country from Central America.
As its name, the Pan American Open from El Salvador is a competition that allows any athlete register and therefore some less known athletes take the opportunity to gain international experience. The competition is worthing points for the world ranking. The champion gets 100 points, the second 60, the third 40, and the fifth placed 20.
"We are going with some athletes who have already a good record in the competition and others who want to test the international scene. Last year we got medals in all categories our athletes competed and we expect to repeat this performance, "said Ney Wilson, the BJC’s Performance Director.
In the last edition, Brazil won seven golds, three silvers and four bronzes. Among last year’s names on the podium at the "El Famoso" Hernandez Sports Palace Carlos were Nathália Brigida, Raquel Silva and Flavia Gomes who got the gold; Barbara Timo and Walter Santos the silver; and Mauro Moura and Leandro Cunha the bronze.
"In 2013 it was the first time I competed in El Salvador and I got a gold medal. I hope to repeat now last year's result. I'm a little anxious because it will be my first international competition after my knee surgery, " Nathália Brigida said.
On Friday, 11:00 p.m., Brasília Time, the drawing takes place. On Saturday and Sunday, the competitions start at 01:00 p.m. On the first day, the men’s extra-lightweight, half-lightweight and lightweight categories and the women’s extra-lightweight, half-lightweight, lightweight and half-middleweight categories compete. On June 15th, the men’s half-middleweight, middleweight, half-heavyweight and heavyweight categories as well as the women’s middleweight, half-heavyweight and heavyweight categories. The technical commission will be composed of Amadeu Moura, head of delegation; Fulvio Miyata, the coach; the physiotherapist Roberta Mattar and the massage therapist Hans Peter Strubreiter.
