In the Last Update of the Ranking before the World Championships, Rafael Silva Becomes the Leader of the Heavy Weight Category
He joins Sarah Menezes, the only Olympic champion who is still leading the ranking, Mayra Aguiar, Maria Suelen Altheman and Victor Penalber
This morning was released the latest update of the IJF ranking before the World Championships Rio 2013. According to this new counting, 50% of the points conquered in the Olympics London 2012 have been subtracted last weekend, one year after the event. Given this new update, the four Brazilians leading the ranking in their respective categories were joined by Rafael Silva who, after overcoming Teddy Riner, became the leader of the heavy weight athletes. Rafael got 1740 points whereas the French athlete 1650.
\"The ranking shows that I\'ve been doing a good job, but it does not show much beyond that. The real important thing is my performance in the World Championships. I\'m focused on fighting well in this competition, which is my goal of the year. I want to implement what I have been training; this way the results will come, “said the new leader of the ranking in the heavy category, Rafael \"Baby\" Silva.
Among the 14 athletes who were Olympic champions in London, Sarah Menezes is the only one who is still leading the ranking in her category. Sarah is in a comfortable position because she has 820 points more than the athlete second placed: the Japanese Haruna Asami.
Mayra Aguiar has a subtle advantage of 22 points in comparison to the Hungarian Abigel Joo; Maria Suelen Altheman enhances her leadership with 506 points ahead of the Cuban Idalys Ortiz; Victor Penalber has 90 points more than the Georgian Avtandil Tchrikishvili.
Besides the Brazilian leaders, the country will have head-keys in six other categories participating in the World Championships: 52kg, 57kg, 70kg in the women’s; 60kg, 66kg and 90kg in the men’s.
\"The most important thing for us from the coaching staff is our evolution compared to the London Games with one more category and with athletes placed in the top eight positions of the ranking, ensuring their being head-keys and having a less difficult way in the World competition. This shows that our plans are working. Regarding the leaders, I see both sides of the coin: on one hand, they are more confident in themselves and more respected by their opponents, and on the other, they become more familiar to the others and, consequently, more analyzed. They cannot stop working, “said Ney Wilson, the BJC’s Performance Director.
