The Algarve judoka Joana Santos won the gold medal in the -57kg judo category at the Caxias do Sul 2021 Deaflympic Games, in Brazil, yesterday, May 3rd.
«I am very proud, it is a great emotion to win this gold. This medal is the result of a lot of effort, a lot of work and I have to thank my coach who is like a father to me. It was a very sweaty and very painful final, there is a lot of management that has to be done, we are competing with the best of the best but now the gold is ours», declared the athlete from Faro, after being crowned champion.
The 32-year-old Judo Clube do Algarve judoka beat Korean Hyeonah Lee in the final with a wazari 17 seconds from the end of the fight and secured her second title as a deaf-lympic champion of her career, with a total of four medals already secured, after the gold in Taipei 2009, silver in Sofia 2013 and bronze in Samsun 2017.
The decisive fight «was a re-edition of the October 2021 Judo World Championship final in which Joana Santos was also the winner», according to the Portugal Paralympic Committee.
This is the first Portuguese medal at the Caxias do Sul 2021 Deaflympic Games, won on the second day of competition.
Photos: Algarve Judo Club
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