Brazil Knows Its Opponents of the Super BRA Judo Contest - Pan American Cup
The organizers release the list of athletes who will defend Cuba, Canada and the United States in an event held next week in Belo Horizonte.
The Brazilian team already knows who will be the invited to represent Cuba, Canada and the United States in the Super BRA Judo Contest - Pan American Cup to be held in the Arena Chevrolet Hall in Belo Horizonte, on October 20th and 21st, from 6 pm. The competition will be live broadcast by SporTV. The semifinals will be played on Monday and fights for medals the next day. The draw –in which determines who will take part in the semifinals will be held next Sunday, April 19th.
Cuba will have the largest foreign delegation at the event, with eight athletes (five will fight and three are spare) and two coaches. Following the great tradition and rivalry between the Brazilian and Cuban female judo, the highlights of the Cuban team are the judokas Onix Cortes Aldama (70kg), bronze-awarded in Chelyabinsk 2014 World Judo Championship and Aliuska Ojeda (57kg), bronze winner in Guayaquil 2014Pan American Championships. They are joined by Anyelo Gomez (66kg), Jorge Martinez (81kg), Alex Garcia Mendoza (90kg +), Yoandry Hernandez (90kg +), Anailiz Hernandez (57kg) and Olga Masferrer Ramirez (70kg). The technical committee is composed of the coaches Justo Noda and Ronaldo Veitia.
The United States also come with an outstanding female team. In recent years the country has revealed strong athletes such as the Olympic medalist and world vice-champion Ronda Rousey , the Olympic champion Kayla Harrison, and the Olympic medalist and world vice-champion Marti Malloy. Hana Carmichael, silver winner in Tashkent 2013 Grand Prix and Santiago and Miami 2014 Pan-American Opens, and Janine Nakao, silver in Montevideo and San Salvador 2013 Pan American Open are representatives of this generation who placed the American women's judo among the world strongest countries. The team is joined by Spencer Augustine (66kg), Robert Lee (81kg) and Peter Stanley (90kg +). The coach Justin Mario Flores will guide the team.
Canada comes with a fairly young team, which aims gaining more experience in the confrontation with this continent’s strong judo countries. The highlights are represented by Zachary Burt, bronze winner in Santiago and San Salvador 2014 Pan American Opens, and Marc Deschênes, gold-awarded in Santiago Pan American Open and bronze in Miami 2014 Pan American Open, both aged 19. The other team members are Simon Gaudreault (66kg), Philippe Desjardins (66kg), Ignacio Rodriguez (90kg +), Mackenzie Burt (57kg) and Alix Renaud-Roy (70kg). But the biggest name of the delegation will be off the mat guiding the team. Sergio Pessoa will be the coach of the team. He was the first Brazilian to win the old Jigoro Kano Cup (current Grand Slam Tokyo), one of the oldest and most difficult world competitions of the judo calendar. In the curriculum, he still has a bronze medal won at the University World Championships and a 5th place in the World Championship.
Brazil will be defended by Charles Chibana (66kg), Emanoel de Oliveira (66kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Vinicius Panini (81kg), Gustavo Assis (81kg), Barbara Timo (70kg) and David Moura (90kg +). Cuba will be the first to arrive in Brazil on October 17th in the morning. The teams from Canada and the United States will land in Belo Horizonte on October 18th.
