Juliana Rodrigues Wins the First Medal for Brazil in the World Judo Cadet Championships

The athlete from the extra light weight judo category got the bronze medal in Miami

On Thursday the competitions of the World Judo Cadet Championship started in Miami. And in the extra-light category, Juliana Rodrigues (ES) won the first Brazilian medal.

Juliana, a girl raised in a poor community from Espírito Santo, has been practicing judo for just two and a half years. In this short time, the young judoka can now compete throughout Brazil defending her state, and across the world, defending Brazil. Brazilian and Pan American Cadet champion, awarded in two stages of the European Cup in Pitesti / ROM and Berlin / GER, only 14 years old, the prodigy athlete keeps training with the teacher who discovered her,  Francisney Sperandio, and with the coach of the women\'s cadet team, Danusa Shira.

\"We are excited ... Seeing all that Juliana has passed through, she was discovered in a social project in a poor area from Cariacica (ES) and she reached a very advanced level in a very short period of time. Regardless of the outcome she would have reached in the World Championship, even if the medal had not come, I would have been proud, \"said Juliana’s thrilled sensei, Francisney Sperandio.

The athlete from Espirito Santo was in \"stand by\" in the first fight, advantage she got after her continental title, which made her head-key. In the second round, Juliana suffered three Yukos applied by the Japanese Honoka Yamauchi, who would be the champion of the category and she ended up losing. But in the repechage she won over the French Marine Gilly and she got the right to fight for a place on the podium. In the last fight, she managed to defeat Aniek Norder, from the Netherlands, by a Yuko and got her bronze medal.

\"I went after my goal, which was the medal. This is why I came to the World Championships. Now I will keep my focus and work hard to achieve more results in the next competition,\" said the Brazilian medalist.

\"I\'m very proud of my daughter. She is a warrior, very humble. A champion, \"said the athlete’s mother, Jociane Venancio.

Brazil’s other representatives did not manage to fight for medal. Kainan Pires defeated in the first fight Elnur Abbasov, from Azerbaijan, and he also won in the quarter-finals by a wazari and yuko. But he could not resist the strong athlete from Georgia, Robinzon Beglarashvili, and he eventually suffered an ippon in the last ten seconds. Beglarashvili fought in the last fight and he ended up with a silver. The gold went to Natig Gurbanli, Azerbaijan, and the bronzes went to  Amartushvin Bayaraa (MGL) and Jorre Verstraeten (BEL).

Thais Kondo defeated the Canadian Marie Bresson for having fewer punishments but she fell against the South Korean Kim Jaeryeong by ippon. In the repechage, another defeat, this time performed by Marusa Stangar (SLO) again by ippon. Marisa ended up continuing the competition.

Photos by: © IJF Media by G. Sabau and Zahonyi