Brazilian Team Boards to Moscow for the Grand Slam
25 athletes are going to represent Brazil in the Russian capital
The Brazilian team that will represent the green and yellow colors at the Grand Slam from Moscow, next weekend, on July the 20th and 21st, started boarding this morning. Their final destination: the Russian capital. The Brazilian delegation is composed of: 25 athletes, the coaches Amadeu Moura, Luiz Shinohara and Mario Tsutsui, the physiotherapist Priscila Marques Silva, the psychologist Adriana Lacerda, the trainers Josué Moraes Filho and Wagner Andrade Zaccani, the massage therapist Hans Strubreiter, the nutritionist Roberta Lima, and the strategist Mataruna Leonardo.
\"The Grand Slam is a very important competition for its score; there are only four of them (Paris, Baku, Moscow and Tokyo). Moscow 2013 is even more special as it is the last main international competition before the World Championship. For this reason, the great athletes of each category will be seeking to increase their score and become head-keys at the World Championships. Since it is organized in Brazil, this competition makes us even more responsible, which is why we are taking to Moscow all our best athletes who will compete in the World Championships. This event is important also for the coaching staff; this is why we send experts from all functional areas, who, like the athletes, will be working on a big stage.\" stated the BJC’s Performance Director, Ney Wilson.
The 25 athletes who will compete in Moscow are Sarah Menezes (48kg), Erika Miranda (52kg), Eleudis Valentim (52kg), Ketleyn Quadros (57kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Katherine Campos (63kg), Mariana Silva (63kg), Maria Portela (70kg), Bárbara Timo (70kg), Mayra Aguiar (78kg), Maria Suelen Altheman (+78 kg), Rochele Nunes (+78 kg), Felipe Kitadai (60kg), Eric Takabatake (60kg), Luiz Revite (66kg), Charles Chibana (66kg), Bruno Mendonça (73kg), Marcelo Contini (73kg), Victor Penalber (81kg), Mauro Moura (81kg), Eduardo Bettoni (90kg), Renan Nunes (100kg), Luciano Corrêa (100kg), Rafael Silva (+100 kg) and David Moura (+100 kg). The Grand Slam from Moscow is the third of the four annual GSs of IJF’s calendar, after Paris and Baku and before Tokyo. In such competitions, each champion scores 500 points, the second placed athlete 300 points, and the third-best judoka ensure 200 points.
This Wednesday morning, the athletes start boarding for the competition. At 1:25 a.m., Eleudis Valentim, Maria Suelen Altheman, Eric Takabatake, Charles Chibana, Marcelo Contini, Ketleyn Quadros, Mariana Silva, Eduardo Bettoni and Sarah Menezes board the Emirates flight 248 from Guarulhos International Airport, São Paulo, bound for Dubai International Airport, arriving at 22:55. At 2:06, the athletes Erika Miranda, Rafaela Silva, Katherine Campos, Bárbara Timo, Maria Portela, Mayra Aguiar, Rochele Nunes and Mauro Moura board the Emirates flight 262 at Galeão International Airport, Rio, also bound for Dubai International Airport, where they arrive at 23:05. This group leaves Dubai on the 18th, at 9:35, taking the Emirates Flight 133, heading to Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, where they will arrive at 14:45 the same day. Kitadai Felipe, Luiz Revite, Bruno Mendonça, Victor Penalber, Renan Nunes, David Moura, Luciano Corrêa and Rafael Silva depart Wednesday afternoon, at 16:50 pm, from Guarulhos to Munich in Lufthansa 505, arriving next morning, at 9:45. They stay in Munich only an hour and a half and after that, they board on Lufthansa flight 2528 to Moscow, arriving at 16:15 the same day.
\"I\'m confident that I can achieve a good result in that competition. I\'m back from the Universiade, where, thanks to my good results, I saw that the way to get closer and closer to the top is difficult, but not impossible. I know it will be a very hard competition, but I feel more prepared for it.\" said the finalist in two categories at the Universiade and the champion in the heavyweight one, Rochele Nunes.
In 2011, Brazil got two bronze medals at the Grand Slam, won by Mayra Aguiar (78kg) and Hugo Pessanha (90kg). In the 2012 edition of the GS from the Russian capital, represented only by female athletes, the Brazilian team won four gold medals, with Sarah Menezes (48kg), Érika Miranda (52kg), Maria Portela (70kg) and Maria Suelen Altheman (+ 78kg), plus the bronze awarded to Eleudis Valentim (52kg).
