Brazilians know keys at Pan-American judo

(Photo: Anderson Neves/CBJ)

Rio de Janeiro – The Pan-American and Oceanian Judo Championships will begin, one of the most important events in the Olympic race for Paris-2024. The competition will take place at Arena Carioca 1, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ), starting this Friday (26) and running until Sunday (28), with the participation of 198 athletes from 28 countries, 18 of which are Brazilian. The key draws took place this Thursday (25).

Brazil will be present in 13 of the 14 individual categories of the competition. The exception is the women’s under-78kg category, in which titleholder Mayra Aguiar continues with a special preparation schedule for the Olympic Games. The country will have so-called “doubles” (two athletes in the same competition) in the 48kg, 63kg and 70kg (women) and 81kg and 100kg (men) categories.

Nine Brazilians who will compete are already guaranteed in Paris-2024: Larissa Pimenta (52kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Beatriz Souza (+78kg), Willian Lima (66kg), Daniel Cargnin (73kg), Guilherme Schimidt (81kg), Rafael Macedo (90kg), Leonardo Gonçalves (100kg) and Rafael Silva (+100kg). All of them are one of the three highest ranked athletes in their respective categories at the Pan.

All 18 Brazilian judokas will begin their participation in the Judo Pan from the round of 16, at least. In categories with few athletes, Larissa Pimenta (52kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Beatriz Souza (+78kg), Rafael Macedo (90kg), Leonardo Gonçalves (100kg), Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) and Rafael Silva (+100kg) will enter directly in the quarterfinals.

Click here and check out the complete brackets for the 2024 Pan-American and Oceanian Judo Championships

Importance in Olympic running

In addition to the nine already mentioned, Brazil also has Mayra Aguiar (78kg) guaranteed in Paris-2024. Thus, the country fights for a place in the other four categories. Michel Augusto (60kg) is the only one in the classification zone, while Ketleyn Quadros (63kg) is guaranteeing the continental quota. At the moment, the women’s categories up to 48kg (Natasha Ferreira and Amanda Lima) and up to 70kg (Luana Carvalho and Ellen Froner) are running out of places.

A good result at the Pan could change this scenario, since there is an “exclusive” score for continental competitions in the Olympic ranking. Considering the 12-month interval in a window, six results are counted to form an athlete’s ranking, five of which come from the world circuit and one extra, which comes from the continental competition or the Masters.

The Pan champion earns 700 points in the world rankings. The silver medalist receives 490, while the bronze medalist takes home 350 points. The last edition of the Pan American and Oceanian Judo Championships took place in Calgary, Canada, in September last year. Brazil won 16 medals on that occasionwith seven golds, four silvers and five bronzes, leading the medal table.

This edition of the Pan-American and Oceanian Judo Championships has the presence of 28 countries, but only Brazil and the United States will have the maximum number of athletes: 18, nine men and nine women. Canada will have a delegation of 16 athletes, while Chile will have 15 judokas in the competition. There will be 24 nations from the Americas and four from Oceania (Australia, Fiji, New Zealand and Vanuatu).

Brazilians registered in the Judo Pan:

FEMININE
Amanda Lima (48kg), Natasha Ferreira (48kg), Larissa Pimenta (52kg), Rafaela Silva (57kg), Ketleyn Quadros (63kg), Nauana Silva (63kg), Ellen Froner (70kg), Luana Carvalho (70kg) and Beatriz Souza (+78kg)

MASCULINE
Michel Augusto (60kg), Willian Lima (63kg), Daniel Cargnin (73kg), Gabriel Falcão (81kg), Guilherme Schimidt (81kg), Rafael Macedo (90kg), Leonardo Gonçalves (100kg), Rafael Buzacarini (100kg) and Rafael Silva (+100kg)

Competition schedule:

Friday, April 26th
10am – Preliminaries 48kg, 52kg, 57kg and 63kg (women); 60kg, 66kg and 73kg (men)
4pm – Finals 48kg, 52kg, 57kg and 63kg (women); 60kg, 66kg and 73kg (men)

Saturday, April 27th
10am – Preliminaries 70kg, 78kg and +78kg (women); 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and +100kg (men)
4pm – Finals 70kg, 78kg and +78kg (women); 81kg, 90kg, 100kg and +100kg (men)

Sunday, April 28
10am – Preliminaries – Mixed team competition
3pm – Finals – Mixed team competition

*Always in Brasília time