Brazilian Judo Champion Already Targeting Tokyo Gold

(ATR) Rafaela Silva just wants to get back to training.

Silva won the first Brazilian gold at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games in the 57 kilogram category for judo. The feat was noteworthy given Silva grew up in the Cidade de Deus favela, which is located less than 10 miles from the Olympic Park. After winning gold, she returned home on top of a fire truck to a parade organized by the community’s residents.

The media attention has been overwhelming for Silva, but exciting. She told Around the Rings that the visibility brought from her achievements has been immeasurable, but she was cut from a tournament in October because of interruptions in her training.

"I wanted to go back to training next week, but with all these interviews and events I won't be able to" Silva said. "I have to start to fight again and qualify for Tokyo 2020 where I'm hoping to come back with another medal."

Silva trains at the Instituto Reação, in Jacarepagua, a neighborhood close to Cidade de Deus. The facility is run by 2004 Olympic judo bronze medalist Flavio Canto. Canto told ATR that he expects Silva to compete for a medal in Tokyo, but also hopes that she inspires a new generation of athletes. Silva says that she knows her responsibilities will extend to more than just training but believes her victory shows anyone can win an Olympic medal.

"It's not that we are women or that we are black; we are human beings too," Silva said. "We have two arms and two legs so we've managed to get our dreams accomplished and pass on this hope. With the same hope and the same coach, I managed to get an Olympic medal so someone else can do it too."

Silva said that without her coach Geraldo Bernardes she would never have been able to accomplish her dreams. She says that he paid for her travels over the years to competitions because her family could not afford to do so. Bernardes’ belief and generosity drove Silva, and she hopes that her gold medal "can pay him back for everything that he's done for me."

"For us, to be a woman and to be black, a lot of people don't believe in us but Geraldo believed in me," Silva said. "There is no better feeling than this to make a dream a reality and even better yet to do it at home."

Canto is sure the young judoka training at Reação now have a permanent role model to elevate their daily training. The goal of Reação was always to inspire children from the area, and Olympic medals are a nice bonus.

"Now, everyone is sure after this they can do [what she did] and be what they want to be," Canto said. "Our main goal is to change people’s lives through sport. They need inspiration and good examples and role models."

Reação is targeting two Olympic medals at Tokyo 2020, and another iconic Olympic moment may just help the organization reach that goal. As part of the fallout of the Ryan Lochte incident, United States swimmer Jimmy Feigen was ordered to donate $10,800 to have charges of falsifying a police report dropped. That money ended up being donated to Reação and will be used to build a wall to fully enclose the training area.

"When it rains it’s a big problem because we run the risk of losing our equipment," Canto said. "This is a positive from that whole situation. I hope they Feigen can come to Rio and see what this is all about, and maybe even be proud of the positive thing that came from that whole [ordeal]."

Written by Aaron Bauer in Rio de Janeiro

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