Patrícia Sampaio the 25-year-old judoka defeated Japan’s Takayama Rika with two waza-aris. This victory earned the Portuguese athlete nothing less than a place on the Olympic podium, winning the bronze medal.
As well as beating Takayama, who is ranked 9th in the world, Patrícia Sampaio won not only a bronze medal, but also the first for the Portuguese delegation at the 2024 Olympic Games.
This is one of the best days of my career in terms of results and performance. I hope that many medals will be won in the next edition and that judo will continue to grow, ” Patrícia Sampaio told the media in an emotional live broadcast on RTP2.
In this context, it is fair to say that the Portuguese judoka has made history, joining the list of athletes who have won medals in this sport, such as:
- Nuno Delgado (Sydney’2000, -81 kg)
- Telma Monteiro (Rio de Janeiro 2016, -57 kg)
- Jorge Fonseca (Tokyo’2020, -100 kg)