The Brazilian Junior Team Scores Six Gold Medals in Panama
The Brazilian judo rose six times in the highest place of the podium at the Pan American Circuit held this weekend, on June 21st and 22nd, in Panama. The Brazilian women’s team was formed by Nathália Mercadante (48kg/SP), Danielle Oliveira (63kg/RJ) and Camilla Nogueira (+78 kg / MS) whereas the men’s one was composed of Vitor Carvalho (60kg/SP), Ricardo Santos Junior (60kg / AL) - the athlete did not fight due to an injury - Lincoln Neves (73kg/SP) and Rafael Macedo (81kg/RS).
In less than a month until the Pan American Championships, the Brazilian Judo Confederation (BJC) attended again a competition from the International Judo Federation’s calendar. With a six athlete-team, Brazil had 100% success, winning medals in all categories in which it was represented, all of them being gold. The Coaching Manager of the Junior and Cadet Teams, Kenji Saito, highlighted the importance of the country’s attendance at the tournament.
"It is important that our athletes attend these IJF’s competitions because they score points for the World Junior Ranking, which define the head-keys at the World Championships," Kenji Saito said.
It is important to mention that, despite the athletes’ good performance, the competition is not point worthy for the national ranking, which decides on the team’s composition in the Pan American and World Championships. The first competition is going to be held between June 10th and -13th in El Salvador, whereas the second one between October 20th and 27th in Miami.
Tied with Tawany Silva’s (48kg/SP) performance with 290 points in the national ranking, Nathália Mercadante (48kg/SP) looks forward to being convoked to the Pan American Championships and believes that her good performance can help when the selection is being done.
"I had three fights and I won all of them by ippon. Besides feeling even more motivated for the next competitions where I can get the ideal score to be invited to the World Championships, I think this victory can also help me to be invited to the Pan American Championships as well," the judoka said.
Danielle Oliveira won her first medal of this year in international competitions. The athlete believes the tournament from Panama helped in preparation for the Pan American Championships, in which she has already been qualified.
"I saw this competition as a training session for the Panamerican Championship. Even if the level is not the same as in Europe, there is always somebody to make your fight harder. Having won this gold motivates me a lot for the next steps, “the athlete said.
Camila Nogueira (+78 kg / MS) repeated the performance from the competition in Austria, held earlier this month, and so she won again the gold medal. The athlete was delighted. "There's no secret to win, all you have to do is training hard and some day you win" she said.
As leader of the national rankings with 450 points, Vitor Carvalho (60kg/SP) took the opportunity to study his likely opponents in the Pan-American. "It was a good competition because it is near the Pan and I could get an idea of how my opponents will be like. It also served to correct my mistakes and improve myself for a good performance in the Panamerican Championships."
Lincoln Neves (73kg/SP) is also a leader in his category. He scored 335 points and he is waiting for the Pan-American Championship. "The level of this championship is not as high as in Europe, but we knew it would not be an easy one. I fought against a Colombian and Mexican and I may find them again in the Panamerican Championships. Now I have to keep on training, and I'm pretty confident in myself. "
Rafael Macedo (81kg/RS) distributed ad ippon over the weekend. Although he had a good performance, the judoka had no easy fights. "The competition was strong, my fights were not easy. I fought against a Mexican, a Colombian and a Dominican. In the first round my opponent got four penalties and I won by hansoku-make, in the other two I could apply an ippon “the judoka said.
