The judokas of the Brazilian Olympic team showed strength this Monday. Érika Miranda (-52kg) and Sarah Menezes (-48kg) won their categories and ended the women's judo World Cup competition with two more gold medals for Brazil – in the entire competition there were four gold medals for women.
Without any difficulty, Érika secured first place with 100% success: the Brazilian won her four fights by ippon and reached her second title at the Belo Horizonte tournament.
The fight that crowned Érika's first place tonight was against Cuban Leslie Gimenez, who showed little resistance for fifth place in last year's world championship, in Rio de Janeiro.
Sarah Menezes, on the other hand, did not have the same ease as her partner. In the final, she faced Cuban Zaylin Risguet. In the morning, the Brazilian had lost on the golden score. Just like in the first fight, the Piauí native was in danger on the ground, but the fight ended in normal time with a draw again.
After showing more movement throughout the golden score, Sarah Menezes won a koka, which was enough to win gold. “She (the Cuban) will be my opponent at the Junior World Cup and it’s good to have experiences like this, to know how each one comes into play. But this fight proved that your physique must always be up to date. I have to have the energy not only to endure the fight, but also to have the strength to land the blows at the end”, said the woman from Piauí.
The bronze medals in the under-48kg category went to Isabelle Lima and Andressa Fernandes, Olympic reserve in the light-weight category, who fought a weight below in Belo Horizonte. In the up to 52kg category, the bronzes went to Giulia Penalber and Pineda, from Costa Rica.
Comments