Mayra Aguiar, the athlete who raised the level of women’s judo by winning three Olympic medals

Mayra Aguiar is the first Brazilian to win three Olympic medals in an individual sport, but she began her career in a very traditional club in Porto Alegre and has become a symbol of women’s sport in Brazil. In this article, learn about the history of judoka Mayra Aguiar, see curiosities and understand her importance.

From Porto Alegre to the world

With an interest in sports from an early age, Mayra Aguiar da Silva was born in Porto Alegre, on August 3, 1991. Encouraged by her parents, she started to practice judo at age 6, while taking ballet classes. She went through Olympic gymnastics and swimming, but it was in judo that she found herself. The support of the family has always been the basis of the athlete, who has had the participation of her parents in her career since the beginning. She and her father traveled about 600 km for her to participate in a competition, and when they got there, there were no opponents in her category. In times of travel, her mother, Leila, puts notes in her backpacks and suitcases, with phrases to reassure and support her daughter in competitions.

His first competition was at age 6, finishing in second place. Competitive, Mayra cried a lot and her parents even believed that she would not continue. However, the runner-up served as an apprenticeship and at age 8 she started training at the most traditional sports club in Rio Grande do Sul, the Porto Alegre Gymnastics Society (SOGIPA). At the age of 14, she turned professional in the sport and defended the Brazilian youth team. In 2007, at age 16, she joined the adult team and played in the Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro.

Olympic trajectory

Mayra Aguiar competed in her first Olympics at the age of 17. At the 2008 Beijing Olympics she was defeated in her first fight. In 2010, in her next Olympic cycle, she won second place at the world championships held in Tokyo. Furthermore, she also won bronze medal in 2011 in France. In the Olympic year, she won the Paris Judo Grand Slam and the Judo Pan American Championship. Compatriot Sarah Menezes was Olympic champion in the under-48 kg category, becoming the first Brazilian woman to win a gold medal in judo.

In 2014, she became world champion by defeating Frenchwoman Audrey Tcheuméo in Chelyabinsk, Russia. The following year, she was runner-up in the Pan-American and Abu Dhabi Grand Slam. In 2016, on the eve of the games in Brazil, she won the Paris Grand Slam twice. At the 2016 Rio Olympics, she won her second bronze medal by beating Cuban Yalennis Castillo.

Mayra started her fourth Olympic cycle becoming a two-time world champion in 2017 in Budapest. She took gold at the Lima 2019 Pan American Games and the 2019 Dusseldorf Grand Slam. In Tokyo, after 16 months without a fight and a knee operation, she became the greatest Brazilian judoka in history by winning her third straight Olympic medal. . With an eye on Paris-24, she started her fifth Olympic cycle with a gold medal at the 2022 Pan American Judo, a team gold and a silver at the Grand Slam of Tbilisi, Georgia.

Important role for future generations

In addition to her accomplishments, Mayra Aguiar shows to future generations how she managed to overcome injuries, surgeries and different obstacles to reach the highest place in high-performance sport. “I want to show them that I am and was like them. With dreams and goals, starting early too. Show that I’m the same, that I can get where they want. Being able to go through a little of what I lived and the difficulties, because they exist, but it is worth continuing, ”she told the GZH newspaper.

In addition, Mayra says she knows how important it is to be an example for several athletes, and how it impacted her when she was in their shoes. The athlete had the chance to train alongside her idols, Thiago Camilo and João Derly, at SOGIPA, and she knows how much it helped her. In addition to example and technique, the important thing for her is not to give up.

10 facts behind 3 Olympic medals

In addition to being a judoka, Mayra Aguiar has her hobbies that are also part of the athlete’s life. In addition, behind her achievements there is a hardworking woman, who had to face many obstacles to reach the Olympic podiums. In this way, check out some curiosities about Mayra Aguiar:

1. First place in the world ranking of the category up to 78 kg

After winning her first Grand Slam in Paris against Kayla Harrison, Mayra Aguiar reached the highest place in the world ranking in her category up to 78 kg. She repeated the feat in 2018 and 2019, constantly remaining among the top 10 athletes in the world and consequently representing Brazilian women’s sport.

2. Was defeated by Ronda Rousey

In her first competition in the Brazilian adult team, Mayra reached the final and was defeated by future UFC champion Ronda Rousey. Before going to MMA, Ronda was part of the US judo team and even won the bronze medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games. In an interview with a podcast, Mayra says that it was a good fight, despite having lost.

3. Already faced 7 surgeries

As of 2013, the judoka has undergone constant injuries and surgeries. In total, she had seven surgeries. In an interview with TV Globo after winning her third Olympic medal, the judoka spoke about the difficulties of the procedures: “I think it is the most important achievement for me. The last few times were difficult, very difficult, you have to overcome, overcome again and again. I couldn’t take the surgery anymore, especially in the moment we live, I was afraid, anguished. But I continued. Giving our best is worth it.”

4. Seventh Pan-American Champion

Among the various titles already won, Mayra Aguiar is seven times champion of the Pan American Judo games. With total dominance in the years 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2019 and 2022, it seems that there is no rival at the level of the greatest Brazilian judoka in history.

5. Best Athlete of 2017

The year 2017 brought many achievements for the career of the judoka elected the best athlete of the year by the COB at the Brazil Olympic Award. Alongside tennis player Marcelo Melo, Mayra won as a female athlete and was crowned the best judo athlete, repeating the feats of 2010 and 2014. To complete, her coaches in the Brazilian national team and SOGIPA, Mario Tsutsui and Antônio Carlos Pereira, shared the award for Best Coach in individual modalities.

6. Counted on his sister’s help to win the third medal

Preparing for the Tokyo 2020 Olympics has required coaches and athletes to change their training routines due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Mayra still needed to recover from knee surgery and carry out her activities at home. She enlisted the help of her physical therapist sister, Hellen, to recover and help with the preparation.

7. Train with the groom

Luck in love and in the game, Mayra met her fiance, Leonardo Lopes, through social networks. He is also a judoka and moved to Porto Alegre to try to get into the club that Mayra herself is a part of. Mutual support is a very present feature of the couple, who even train together and make plans to get married as soon as they win their Olympic spots in Paris-2024, or after winning Olympic medals.

8. Is a fan of biographies

To help prepare for the Olympic Games in Rio, Mayra told Uol that books, especially self-help and biographies, encouraged the judoka to seek her best. The biography of Steve Jobs and Michael Phelps are some that she has read. If she could recommend any book, it would be that of João Derly, her countryman and former SOGIPA athlete, who, like her, is also a two-time world champion.

9. “I won three medals, but I want the gold”

The pursuit of the gold medal is the athlete’s motivation. Her demand is personal, but without that competitiveness that she consumes. Even with the shorter Olympic cycle, due to the postponement of the Tokyo Games, the athlete’s preparation will be the same, aiming for good results in competitions such as Pan American, Grand Slams and Worlds.

10. Agreement with SOGIPA until Paris-2024

On International Women’s Day, the club that Mayra has defended for more than 10 years announced the renewal of the contract with the judoka until the Paris Olympics in 2024. Focused on winning the spot in its fifth edition of the Olympic Games, Mayra told the Gaucho Federation of Judo that feels very good. “I am strong, happy and very motivated. The journey is long and it is just beginning, but the construction of the next Olympic medal has already begun”.

While Mayra prepares for her fifth Olympics, how about getting to know more about Rebeca Andrade? The athlete also made history in her sport and brought the first medals in women’s Olympic gymnastics.