The 24-year-old who emerged from the poverty and violence of the Cidade De Deus (‘City of God’) district, around five miles from the Olympic Park, beat Mongolia’s Sumiya Dorjsuren in the final of the 57kg category.
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Rafaela Silva’s judo gold represents the latest chapter in a fairytale rise for an athlete who hails from Rio’s notorious City of God favela, one of the poorest and most risky neighbourhoods in the country. “Now I’m an Olympic champion”, said Silva, also the world champion three years ago. She crushed her own world record in the 400 freestyle Sunday night, touching almost 5 seconds ahead of her closest pursuer.
Russian Federation took gold and silver in the women’s sabre fencing as Yana Egorian beat Sofiya Velikaya, who again suffered heartbreak after also losing the 2012 Olympic final.
China’s Lin Yue and Chen Aisen won gold in men’s 10 metre synchronized diving at the Rio Games on Monday (August 8), keeping alive the country’s goal of a clean sweep in all eight events.
She won. On Monday, Silva won gold while competing in her home country; a win that came with the added distinction of being the first gold medal for Brazil at this year’s Olympics.
Silva on Monday defeated Mongolian Sumiya Dorjsuren in a fiercely contested 57-kilogram weight class showdown. “This is more than just a medal, it’s a victory for poor people”.
As if coming from a favela weren’t enough, Silva also dealt with great racism, especially at the London Olympics. She had the full support of the crowd Monday with loud chants of “Rafa” throughout the competition.
After staring down Efimova in the ready room and giving her a look of disdain on deck, King led all the way to take the gold with a time of 1 minute, 4.93 seconds.
“I have to thank everyone who believed in me”, a tearful Rafaela Silva said.
Silva’s title is even more impressive when considering the depth of the 57kg field, which returned all four medalists from London: Japan’s Kaori Matsumoto (gold), Caprioriu (silver), France’s Automne Pavia (bronze) and Team USA’s Marti Malloy (bronze).
“If the kids have a dream, they need to go out and fulfill it”, she said in the Judo hall as the crowds cheered her name. George Lyon of Canada won the gold medal at the St. Louis Games in 1904. Her compatriot, Shohei Ono, would ultimately capture gold in the men’s 73kg (161 lbs) division to give Japan its sixth medal in six divisions and its first gold. “And because of where she is from, she wanted something better”. If it wasn’t for judo, I don’t know where I would be now.
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“I’ll feel good competing at home”.
