Layana Colman Wins Her Second Medal in Nanjing 2014
The silver came after the competition between mixed teams composed of athletes from seven different countries
Layana Colman won on Thursday, August 21st the silver medal in the competition between mixed teams, composed of men and women from different countries, in the Youth Olympic Games held in Nanjing. This was the Brazilian judoka's second medal in China. The 17-year old athlete from Mato Grosso do Sul had won the gold in the category -52kg. With five days of competition and eight medals won, Time Brasil beats the record compared to its participation in Singapore in 2010, the event's first edition, when the country got seven podiums.
Layana and her team fought four times to get the silver medal. The Brazilian was defeated in the first round by the Chinese Xiaoyu Liu, but her team won and continued competing. From there, the Brazilian had three victories. In the quarter finals, Layana defeated Paola Acevedo from Puerto Rico, by applying an ippon. In the semifinal, another ippon against the Korean Hyekyeong Lee, missing 30 seconds to the end of the fight. In the decision, the athlete from Mato Grosso do Sul defeated the Argentinian Ayelén Elizeche by two Shidos.
With two medals, the Brazilian compared her achievements. "The first medal was a very good surprise. A second was fun. Since it was a competition between teams from various countries, I did not have that pressure for results. So I enjoyed a lot on the mat," Layana said. "I am very happy to be part of this moment of the Brazilian sport. This result is a sign that sport has improved in Brazil and I feel very proud to be part of all and help Time Brasil with my medals "celebrated athlete. The competition between mixed teams was different from the traditional one. Each team had the name of a judo celebrity and it was composed of seven members from different countries. Layana's team was a tribute to the Dutch Antonius Johannes Geesink, the Olympic gold medalist in Tokyo 1964. The Brazilian's team was formed by Anastasya Turcheva (Russia), Dzmitry Minkou (Bulgaria), Seunghwan Ryu (Korea), Ivana Sunjevic (Montenegro), Jyun-Yu Wang (Taipei) and Nemanja Majdov (Serbia).
The idea of competing with colleagues of other nationalities was approved by the Brazilian. "In judo everyone knows each other for a long time and we encourage each other. One of judo's goal is friendship and it was really cool to be part of this team," said Layana.
The gold went to the team paying tribute to Jean-Luz Rouge, the first French judoka to become world champion. The team was formed by athletes from Portugal, Puerto Rico, Argentina, Uzbekistan, the Netherlands, Russia and France. The bronzes awards went to the teams nonoring the French David Douillet and the Chinese Xian Dongmei, judo idols as well.
