Brazil ended the Paralympic Judo Grand Prix in Almada (Portugal) with the overall leadership of the event after winning, this Tuesday (31), more than ten medals (two golds, six silvers and two bronzes). Thus, with the five won on the first day of the event, the Brazilian delegation ended its participation with 15 medals.
One of Brazil’s gold medals this Tuesday was achieved by Alana Maldonado. Two-time world champion and gold medalist at the Tokyo Games, the 27-year-old from São Paulo overcame Japan’s Kazusa Ogawa in the J2 category (for athletes with low vision) up to 70 kg to take the highest place on the podium.
“It’s great to start the year like this, being a champion! We have a great season ahead of us, which is preparatory to the Paris Games. So there will be many competitions. Thank you so much for everyone’s support”, said Alana.
The second Brazilian gold came from Arthur Silva, 30 years old, current leader of the ranking in the J1 category (total blind) of up to 90 kg. In the decision, he overcame Antônio Tenório, the greatest Paralympic judoka of all time. “There was no way to start the year better, gold here in Portugal, double in Brazil. I want to thank everyone who follows in the crowd, let’s go to Paris, God willing!”, celebrated Arthur.
In the general classification of the tournament, which brought together 91 athletes from 24 countries, France was in second place (with two golds, one silver and two bronzes) and Kazakhstan in third (two golds and one bronze).
In addition to medals, the judokas sought in Portugal points in the rankings of the International Association of Sports for the Blind (Ibsa, acronym in English), which will define the qualifiers for the Paralympics in Paris (France), in 2024. the Grand Prix in Alexandria (Egypt), Baku (Azerbaijan) and Tokyo (Japan), as well as the Ibsa World Games in Birmingham (Great Britain) and the Parapan in Santiago (Chile).
