Portuguese judo with ambitions to repeat its presence in the medals

The Portuguese judo team left this Thursday for the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris with the ambition of repeating its medal haul from the last games, under the guidance of Tokyo 2020 bronze medalist Jorge Fonseca.

“The expectation is to be on the podium. I am working towards that,” Jorge Fonseca began, adding, “I have a goal of becoming an Olympic champion. I work every day, even with injuries, to be healthy and to reach the Games well.”

At the Humberto Delgado airport in Lisbon, the Sporting judoka (up to 100 kg) considered that his 31 years have brought him more experience and therefore more caution so as not to go out on the tatami with greed, but he wants a second medal for the country.

“It’s something special. I came from Sao Tome and Principe when I was 12 years old, and representing Portugal is hard to describe. My dream is to bring great joy to this country,” he stressed.

Barbara Timo, 33, is a judoka who knows what it means to win on big stages, but she is still missing an Olympic medal, as she has already finished second in the world in 2019 in the 70 kg weight class and third in 2022 in the current 63 kg category.

“I hope to be in the best shape possible. I work hard for this and try to live in the moment. I have already achieved a lot and I want to have another opportunity to achieve more,” she said. comes out, emphasizing that she is calm, a sign that she is ready.

The fact that judo is one of the sports that the Portuguese have the most hopes of achieving “doesn’t create expectations”, but he believes there is a “collective sense of trust” in the delegation, in which everyone believes in each other’s victory.

“I changed categories, there was a change in weight. At first it was almost a test of self-discovery. To qualify, you need to be in the top 18 in the rankings. It’s not just about getting a good result, it’s about staying consistent. Physically and mentally it was tiring, but I had three months of preparation to do something planned, with a lot of calm and strategy. This cycle was very tough, but now I feel good,” the judoka said.

Rochelle Nunes (+78kg) considers herself the most optimistic of the 73 Portuguese athletes taking part in the competition and therefore hopes to improve on her ninth position at Tokyo 2020.

“For high-level athletes, we have to know how to handle pressure. The more we want to win, the more demands we have. This pressure is a sign that they trust our work. We are one of the favorites, and that gives me confidence,” he said.

On the other hand, Patricia Sampaio said she tried to prepare without relying on expectations or goals, giving a satisfactory assessment of the Olympic cycle that is now ending, which also gives her more confidence in improving the ninth position.

“In the previous cycle, I had many more injuries. Now I was able to prepare much better. For Tokyo 2020, I had not done judo for a long time and qualified “for the last time”. Now it is better, and this gives me strength. more self-confidence, now I am a more mature athlete and know much better how to handle situations. Whatever the result, I know that I am ready to handle it at this moment,” emphasized the judoka, 25 years old and… Category 78 kg.

Absolute Olympic debutants Tais Pina (-70kg) and Joao Fernando (-81kg) qualified towards the end of the qualifying round, which caused a rollercoaster of emotions for the young 19-year-old judoka who wants to compete to be the best.

“I always want to think fight by fight, without rushing. I want to go as far as possible and give my best,” he said, while João Fernando was ambitious: “Getting the title would be a result that would leave me satisfied. I have already competed with my rivals and always have the dream and goal of winning a medal.”

Judo competitions will be held from Saturday to August 3 on the Field of Mars.