There Will Be 27 Brazilian Athletes Competing in two European Open Championships Next Weekend
There will be 14 women in the European Open Rome and 13 men in the European Open Oberwart.
The Brazilian team’s calendar began last weekend with the Grand Slam from Paris, where two medals were won: one silver by David Moura (+100 kg) and bronze by Rafaela Silva (57kg). From now on, there will be more than 40 weeks full of International Judo Federation events and they will last until the end of the year. The forthcoming challenges are defined: on the weekend - February 15th and 16th - the European Open Rome for women and European Open Oberwart ( AUT ) for men. On February 22nd and 23rd, it will be organized the Grand Prix from Dusseldorf, Germany. Brazil is going to competitions with a whole army. There will be 27 athletes competing in both Opens. The half middleweight women’s team and the light and half heavyweight men’s team will be composed of judokas from the National Team.
“This planning was conceived as giving same chances to all athletes. They will participate in two strong competitions in Europe, being able to score points for the world ranking and will have the same period of training. The technical committee will observe their performance to build individual calendars for the next quarter, \"said Amadeu Moura, the Coaching Supervisor of High Performance.
For the European Open for Rome the following athletes are convoked: Nathália Brígida (48kg), Gabriela Chibana (48kg), Erika Miranda (52kg) , Ketleyn Quadros (57kg) , Mariana Barros (63kg), Barbara Timo (70kg) , Samantha Soares (78kg) , Rochele Nunes ( +78 kg ) - leave Brazil on Wednesday , 12/2 - and Rafaela Silva (57kg) , Mariana Silva (63kg) , Katherine Quadros (63kg) , Maria Portela (70kg) , Nadia Merli (70kg) and Mary Suelen Altheman (+78 kg) – go straight from Paris to Italy.
\"I think that having so many Brazilians in the same category is a good opportunity for this country to show its strength. There is a great chance for a confrontation between the girls in my category, but I try not to think about it too much and give my best so that I can get to the podium, \"said Mariana Barros, 10th best world athlete, best placed in the middleweight category currently.
The European Open Oberwart Austria will be joined by Felipe Kitadai ( 60kg ), Bruno Mendonça ( 73kg ), Marcelo Contini ( 73kg ), Eduardo Santos ( 90kg ), Renan Nunes ( 100kg ), Hugo Pessanha (100kg ), David Moura ( + 100kg ), who competed in Paris; and Diego Santos ( 60kg) , Luiz Revite ( 66kg) , Alex Pombo ( 73kg) , Eduardo Bettoni ( 90kg) , Luciano Correa ( 100kg) and Rafael Buzacarini (100kg). The Grand Prix Dusseldorf will be disputed by all those who board to Europe on February 12th and Rafael Silva who will be traveling on February 17th.
“The competition from Oberwart will be a very tough competition because of being between two major tournaments: the Grand Slam from Paris and the Grand Prix from Dusseldorf. Even if we are training and helping each other, we do not forget this is a championship. I want to represent Brazil and if possible reach a Brazilian final, “said Diego Santos, placed 12th in the world ranking, who is joined by Felipe Kitadai, current number 6 in the world, in the Selection and club.
In March, the Selection’s calendar counts on an international training camp in Saquarema, in the Região dos Lagos from Rio de Janeiro State, to be held from February 12th -23rd; beyond the disputes of the South American Games (from 11th to 14th), the Panamerican Open Montevideo (from 17th to 18th), the Panamerican Open Buenos Aires (from 22nd to 23rd) and the Grand Prix from Samsun, Turkey (from 28th to 30th).
Check out the full list of athletes in each competition:
European Open of Rome (boarding 12/2. Those who will fly directly to Paris are marked with an asterisk):
60kg: Felipe Kitadai*
60kg: Diego Santos
66kg: Luiz Revite
73kg: Bruno Mendonça*
73kg: Alex Pombo
73kg: Marcelo Contini*
90kg: Eduardo Santos*
90kg: Eduardo Bettoni
100kg: Renan Nunes*
100kg: Luciano Corrêa
100kg: Rafael Buzacarini
100kg: Hugo Pessanha*
+100kg: David Moura*
Grand Prix from Dusseldorf/GER
48kg: Nathália Brígida
48kg: Gabriela Chibana
52kg: Érika Miranda
57kg: Ketleyn Quadros
63kg: Mariana Barros
70kg: Bárbara Timo
78kg: Samanta Soares
+78kg: Rochele Nunes
60kg: Diego Santos
66kg: Luiz Revite
73kg: Alex Pombo
90kg: Eduardo Bettoni
100kg: Luciano Corrêa
100kg: Rafael Buzacarini
+100kg: Rafael Silva (boarding on 18/2)
