Guilherme Schmidt Wins Judo Grand Slam Gold Medal in Turkey

Brazilian Guilherme Schimid won the gold medal in the under 81 kg category this Saturday (2) at the Judo Grand Slam in Antalya (Turkey), beating his host Vedat Albayrak with an armbar in the last 39 seconds of the fight. Also on the podium today was her compatriot Maria Portela, who took bronze after beating Britain’s Petersen Pollard with a waza-ari in the category up to 70 kg. The competition runs until next Sunday (3), with Live broadcast on YouTube of the International Judo Federation (IJF).

DOUBLE

Brazil closes the second day of the Grand Slam. disabled #JudoAntalya with two additional steps:

Guilherme Schmidt 81kg
???? Maria Portela 70kg #BrazilJudo #Ippon @timebrasil @sogipa @MinasTenisClub pic.twitter.com/I4PSF5hwJE

– CBJ (@JudoCBJ) 2 avril 2022

In the decision for the gold, the 21-year-old Brazilian, 16th in the IJF Ranking, he had to outdo himself on the mat against his local opponent, world number 4. Born in Georgia and naturalized Turkish, Albayrak had victory in hand after scoring a waza-ari 1 min 30 from the end of the match. But in an incredible comeback, Schmidt won the fight by immobilizing the Turk with an armbar in the last minutes, forcing the opponent to abandon the fight.

Grand Slam gold guarantees Scimidit 1,000 points in the International Judo Federation (IJF) rankings and makes the judoka from Brasilia one of the most important names in the country at the Olympic Games in Paris (France), in 2024 In September of the year In the Schmidt had already distinguished himself in the past with the conquest of gold at the Military Judo World Cup in Paris.

At the opening of the Grand Slam on Friday (1st), Brazil won two medals: Willian Lima (under 66 kg) won silver and Jessica Lima (under 57 kg) won bronze.

The Brazilian delegation has 24 athletes in Turkey. The Grand Slam of Antalya is the last stage of the world circuit of the Pan American and Oceanian judo championships. These contests will determine who will participate in the Panamerican.