(Photo: Anderson Neves/CBJ)
Guilherme Schmidt won one of Brazil’s two gold medals on the second day of competitions at the Pan-American and Oceania Judo Championships, this Saturday (27). The title came in impressive fashion, in a final against Canadian François Gauthier-Drapaeu, and was important to give confidence to the judoka, who aims to reach the podium in the two main competitions of the season: the World Championship and the Paris 2024 Olympic Games. .
“My project is to win a medal at the World Championships. I’m not a world medalist yet, so it’s something I’m missing from my collection. And I will conquer this year, in Abu Dhabi. Soon after, I will arrive super motivated for Paris, as my goal is also a medal there”, projected the 23-year-old judoka to the Olympics Every Day right after winning his third adult Pan-American title, at Arena Carioca 1.
Luxury preparation
The next edition of the Judo World Cup will take place in Abu Dhabi, in the United Arab Emirates, between May 19th and 24th. It will be the last competition before the Olympic rankings are finalized to define those classified for Paris-2024. Schmidt, however, has no concerns about the Olympic spot. He is currently number four in the world in the under-81kg category and has already been called up by the Brazilian Judo Confederation (CBJ) to represent the country at the Olympics.
Now, Schmidt is worried about the Olympic preparation, which includes the World Cup. He won a bronze medal at the 2019 Junior World Cup, but has not yet reached the competition podium in the adult category. He has already participated in three editions and his best result was the round of 16 in 2022, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan. Gui has already medaled in Grand Prix, grand slam It is in Masterswith only the World Cup remaining to complete his “bingo” of achievements in the main competitions on the judo circuit.
“The World Championship is in about 20 days. I want to do some luxurious preparation before the Olympic Games. It’s a competition that, in my opinion, is even stronger than the Olympics. The Olympic Games are more emotional because they are held every four years. But the World Cup is a competition that is more exhausting and you have more fights”, analyzed the judoka from Minas Tênis Clube.
Title to give moral
Schmidt celebrated his victory at the Pan-American Judo Championships, obtaining his third title in the competition. He had a three-win campaign in the preliminaries and overcame Canadian François Gauthier-Drapeau, seventh in the Olympic rankings, in the final. The triumph also had a special taste because it was a rematch of last year’s continental final, in which François beat Schmidt in Calgary.
“This competition is very important because of the points. I knew that my big opponent would be the Canadian, who is an opponent I have already faced four times. I’m coming from a growing, with a bronze in Türkiye and today with this gold at the Pan-American Games, with a very good performance. I won all my fights by ippon, three on the ground and the last one standing up. I am happy with this result and motivated to continue working for what lies ahead”, said Schmidt.
With his recent achievements, Schmidt remains in sixth place in the Olympic rankings. If Gauthier-Drapeu had won gold at the Pan-American Games, he would have surpassed him in the classification. The Brazilian is fighting to remain in the top-8 to be one of the top seeds in Paris-2024, a situation that avoids direct confrontations against strong opponents until the quarter-finals, thus facilitating his path towards a medal in his first Olympic participation.
22 years old from São Paulo. Journalist graduated from the Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG). I’ve been at Olimpíada Todo Dia since 2022. I covered the World University Games in Chengdu and the Pan-American Games in Santiago-2023.
