Newsletter

Patricia Sampaio, heroine of Portuguese judo

the Portuguese Grand Prix 2023 in Almada, the stadium full of enthusiastic fans who wanted to see the judo heavyweights on the last day.

In the class under 90kg, the Bulgarian Ivaylo Ivanov won over the strong Krisztian Toth from Hungary in a sportingly fair competition. Skander Hachicha, Sports Director of the IJF, presented the medals.

_”In judo you always have to respect your opponent. We are friends and we are the same age. We both have children and before our fight he texted me: “I’m looking forward to our fight”. It’s sport – I give it my all in a fight and after that we’re friends.”
_

Ivaylo Ivanov, Gold – 90kg

Patricia Sampaio was the hero of the day in the 78kg-under class, giving the Portuguese crowd what it came for! She fought her way through the preliminary rounds, determined to bring Portugal the gold medal. And she did.

With full concentration and a tactical victory in the final, Sampaio won her first Grand Prix gold, and the stadium was delighted with this victory for Portuguese judo. Ines de Medeiros, mayor of the city of Almada, presented her with the precious metal she deserved.

“I couldn’t believe so many people were here. I’m not from Lisbon, I live 2 hours away, my family and friends from the club got in their cars to cheer me on… I have no words for what I’m talking about today who experienced…”

Patricia Sampaio Gold -78kg

In the under 100kg weight class, Georgia’s Ilia Sulamanidze defeated Japanese youngster Arai to cement his position as world No. 1. He received his medal from IJF Referee Supervisor Carlo Knoester.

Over 78kg, Kim Hayun Portugal took the hope of another gold, Rochelle Nunes fought for silver. The medals were presented by IJF judge Cathy Fleury

In the over 100kg class, Kim Minjong alone took four gold medals for South Korea, which took the lead with a total of six medals medal table could put. Host Portugal took second place with 2 gold and one silver medal. The Portuguese judo team can count this Grand Prix as a great success.

Comments

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Trending