Rafael Silva (Judoka)

Rafael Silva with his medal at the 2016 Olympic Games

Rafael Carlos da Silva (born May 11, 1987 in Aquidauana ) is a Brazilian judoka . He was a third heavyweight Olympic champion in 2012 and 2016.

Athletic career

The 2.03 m tall Rafael Silva was the 2008 South American heavyweight champion. In 2008 and 2009 he won the Brazilian national championships. In 2009 he won both the heavyweight and the open class at the South American Championships. In 2010 he repeated the double victory at the South American Games in Medellin. In June 2010 he won his first World Cup tournament in Madrid. At the World Championships in Tokyo , he lost to the French Teddy Riner and Matthieu Bataille and finished fifth in the heavyweight division. In the open class he lost his opening match against Martin Padar from Estonia . In 2011 Silva lost in the final of the Pan American Championships against Cuban Óscar Brayson , six months later Brayson also won the final of the Pan American Games against Silva. In 2012 Silva won the Pan American Championships against Brayson. At the 2012 Olympic Games in London, Silva lost to Russian Alexander Michailin in the quarter-finals , and Rafael Silva won the bronze medal with victories in the hoping round over Hungary's Barna Bor and South Korean Kim Sung-min .

In 2013 Silva won the Pan American Championships. At the Judo World Championships 2013 in Rio de Janeiro he reached the final by defeating the German Andreas Tölzer , where he lost to Teddy Riner. In 2014, Silva won the Pan American Championships for the third time in a row. At the Judo World Championships in Chelyabinsk in 2014 , he lost in the semifinals to Riner, but secured the bronze medal by beating the Dutchman Roy Meyer . In 2015, Silva lost to his compatriot David Moura in the final of the Pan American Championships and then took a longer break from competition. In 2016 Silva was back and won the final of the Pan American Championships against Moura. At the Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Silva lost to the French Riner in the quarter-finals. With victories over Roy Meyer and the Uzbeks Abdullo Tangriyev , Silva won the bronze medal in front of a home crowd.

At the Judo World Championships 2017 in Budapest, Silva lost to Teddy Riner in the quarter-finals, in the hope round he defeated Daniel Allerstorfer from Austria and in the battle for bronze the Hungarian Barna Bor.

Web links

• Rafael Silva in the database of Sports-Reference (English; archived from the original )
• Rafael Silva on judoinside.com