Rafaela Silva wins first gold of Rio 2016 for Brazil
Last Updated: 08/08/16 11:58pm
Brazil is celebrating its first gold medal of Rio 2016 after judoka Rafaela Silva completed her rise from the 'City of God' favela to the top of the Olympic podium.
The first-ever Games hosted on South American soil have been fraught with difficulties, varying from the Zika virus to infrastructure issues.
Such problems were forgotten inside the Carioca Arena 2 on Monday, though, as Silva secured the hosts' first gold medal of the Olympics in the women's -57kg class.
Having overcome Miryam Roper, Kim Jan-di, Hedvig Karakas and Corina Caprioriu earlier in the day, Mongolia's Sumiya Dorjsuren, ranked number one in the world, was defeated in the gold medal contest.
Silva, whose family escaped Rio's notorious Cidade de Deus favela when she was at an early age, won by Waza-ari with Sumi-otoshi to send the partisan crowd wild.
"Everybody here knows Rafaela's history," said Eduardo Colli, a Brazilian fan watching the final in the stands. "This is more than just a medal, it's a victory for poor people. It's hope for all of them."
The women's -57kg was among the toughest judo categories at Rio, featuring all four medal winners from the London Games, and there were several notable upsets.
Japan's Kaori Matsumoto, world champion and London gold medallist, was stunned in the semi-finals and went on to settle for bronze.
France's judo medal drought in Rio continued as London bronze winner Automne Pavia lost in the bronze medal match, while another London bronze medallist, Marti Malloy of the United States, suffered a shock early exit in the round of 16.
