Rafaela Silva

Not to be confused with Rafael Silva (judoka).

In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Lopes and the second or paternal family name is Silva.

Rafaela Silva

Silva in 2016
Personal information
Nationality	Brazilian
Born	(1992-04-24) 24 April 1992 Rio de Janeiro, RJ, Brazil
Occupation	Judoka
Height	169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight	57 kg (126 lb)
Sport
Country	Brazil
Sport	Judo
Weight class	–57 kg
Club	Instituto Reação
Coached by	Geraldo Bernardes
Achievements and titles
Olympic Games	(2016)
World Champ.	(2013, 2022)
Pan American Champ.	(2012, 2013)
Medal record Women's judo Representing Brazil Olympic Games 2016 Rio de Janeiro –57 kg World Championships 2013 Rio de Janeiro –57 kg 2022 Tashkent –57 kg 2011 Paris –57 kg 2013 Rio de Janeiro Women's team 2017 Budapest Mixed team 2019 Tokyo –57 kg 2019 Tokyo Mixed team Pan American Games 2011 Guadalajara –57 kg 2015 Toronto –57 kg Disqualified 2019 Lima –57 kg Pan American Championships 2012 Montreal –57 kg 2013 San José –57 kg 2014 Guayaquil –57 kg 2015 Edmonton –57 kg 2019 Lima –57 kg 2011 Guadalajara –57 kg 2016 Havana –57 kg 2022 Lima –57 kg World Masters 2012 Almaty –57 kg IJF Grand Slam 2019 Baku –57 kg 2011 Rio de Janeiro –57 kg 2017 Abu Dhabi –57 kg 2019 Düsseldorf –57 kg 2022 Budapest –57 kg 2009 Rio de Janeiro –57 kg 2011 Tokyo –57 kg 2012 Tokyo –63 kg 2013 Moscow –57 kg 2014 Paris –57 kg 2014 Tokyo –57 kg 2016 Paris –57 kg 2017 Ekaterinburg –57 kg 2019 Brasilia –57 kg 2022 Tbilisi –57 kg IJF Grand Prix 2011 Düsseldorf –57 kg 2015 Düsseldorf –57 kg 2016 Tbilisi –57 kg 2018 Budapest –57 kg 2018 Cancún –57 kg 2019 Budapest –57 kg 2022 Almada –57 kg 2013 Qingdao –57 kg 2017 Tbilisi –57 kg 2019 Tbilisi –57 kg 2012 Düsseldorf –57 kg 2016 Havana –57 kg World Juniors Championships 2008 Bangkok –57 kg Military World Games 2015 Mungyeong –57 kg 2015 Mungyeong Women's team
Profile at external databases
IJF	438
JudoInside.com	51417
Updated on 9 October 2022

Rafaela Lopes Silva (born 24 April 1992) is a Brazilian judoka. She won a gold medal at the 2013 World Judo Championships and at the 2016 Summer Olympics in the –57 kg weight division. Currently, she occupies the graduation third sergeant in the Navy of Brazil and integrates the Center of Physical Education Admiral Nunes (CEFAN), the Military Sports Department.

In August 2013, she was the first Brazilian to become world champion in Judo. On 8 August 2016, she won the gold medal of category up until 57 kg the Olympics 2016

Biography

Rafaela Silva grew up in the Rio de Janeiro slum known as Cidade de Deus. The first sport she liked was football, practicing against other children in a dirt field near her home in Jacarepagua. Because they were concerned with fights and violence in the streets, when Rafaela was 7 years old her parents Luiz Carlos and Zenilda Silva signed her up, together with her sister, Raquel, for judo classes at the Institute Reaction, newly fitted at Cidade de Deus the former athlete Flávio Canto.

"I started judo in 2000, early in the project. My father put me in the sport as an alternative to fighting in the street. In Judo, I found discipline, I respect the other and began to take the sport seriously. Judo showed me the world. With the resources I get, I guarantee my support and help my family pay the bills. "

Judo career

Rafaela Silva, owner of a gold medal of the Summer Olympic Games 2016 in Rio de Janeiro for a victory in competitions in judo.

Silva won her first major medal by claiming silver at the 2011 World Judo Championships in Paris. During the 2013 World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro, Silva became the first Brazilian woman to ever win a gold medal for her country in a World Judo Championship after defeating American Marti Malloy in the final. She repeated the feat at the 2016 Summer Olympics by defeating Mongolian Sumiya Dorjsuren in the final.

In the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, Rafaela was disqualified by the judges in the second round by an illegal coup. The most dramatic moment of Rafaela in the sport. When it ended up being a victim of racism in social networks. Upon returning home, she became depressed. She spent a lot of time lying down, not wanting to leave. "A lot of people came to say that she needed to turn around," her mother said. In December 2012, she was a bronze medalist at the Grand Slam of Tokyo (category up to 63 kg).

Silva won gold and bronze in 2019 Pan American Games and 2019 Judo World Championships, respectively, but tested positive for fenoterol after the former tournament. Despite testing negative in the World Championships, she was banned from competition for two years by IJF and stripped of both medals. Silva appealed the sanction, but the CAS upheld the ban in late 2020.

Mixed martial arts career

Being temporarily banned from judo, Silva opted to transition to mixed martial arts. She is currently training at PFL athlete Joilton Santos' gym Peregrino Fight Academy with UFC athlete Cláudio Silva and is expected to compete in the Flyweight division.

Personal life

In an interview to Globo Sports, Rafaela came out and identified as gay. She spoke about her relationship with student Thamara Cezar, whom she knew in Institute Reaction.

External links

• Rafaela Silva at the International Judo Federation
• Rafaela Silva at JudoInside.com
• Rafaela Silva at AllJudo.net (in French)
• Rafaela Silva at Olympics.com
• Rafaela Silva at Olympedia