Leandro Guilheiro Resumes Competing at Astana Grad Prix
The Brazilian delegation will be traveling this week for the weekend’s competition
A great warrior is back. After a two-year recovery from two knee injuries, Leandro Guilheiro will represent Brazil again next weekend, at Astana Grand Prix, Kazakhstan. The twice Olympic awarded - bronze in Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008 – will be boarding on Tuesday afternoon, October 06th, from São Paulo. Next week, he will be competing at Tashkent Grand Prix, Uzbekistan. Guilheiro’s last competition was the London Olympics and he last fought on July 31st, 2012 against Takahiro Nakai.
"I am very happy for stepping on the mat again, returning to compete. The most important is to have overcome this difficult stage that was my first injury and the subsequent one in the same place. There were more than two years of recovery and I have no words besides happiness to define this moment, “Guilheiro said.
In Kazakhstan, the team will also be composed of Gabriela Chibana (48kg), Nathália Brígida (48kg), Eleudis Valentim (52kg), Mariana Silva (63kg), Katherine Campos (63kg), Nadia Merli (70kg), Maria Portela (70kg) , Phelipe Pelim (60kg) and Allan Kuwabara (60kg). The coach in charge with the team is Mario Sabino, joined by the massage therapist Hans Peter Strubreiter. The team who will got to Tashkent is the same with the exception of Phelipe Pelim who will be replaced by Diego Santos (60kg).
Last year, Brazil had a good performance at Astana Gran Prix. Alex Pombo (73kg), Ketleyn Quadros (57kg), Mariana Barros (63kg) and Nadia Merli (70kg) became champions. Mariana Silva (63kg) and Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) were second placed whereas David Moura (100kg +), Raquel Silva (52kg) and Barbara Timo (70kg) won the bronze award.
