Important Because She Is a Role Model in City Suffering From Gang Violence
Brazil’s first gold medalist at the 2016 Rio Olympics has publicly come out in an interview with Globo Sports, becoming one of nearly 50 out Olympians in Rio.
Judo athlete Rafaela Silva won her medal on Monday in the 57k category, the same event that she was disqualified from in the quarterfinals of the 2012 Games for an illegal move against Hungary’s Hedvig Karakas. This time, Silva’s final match was against Mongolia’s Sumiya Dojsuren.
Silva is also the country’s first female world champion as of 2013.
While Silva’s Instagram account features pictures of the athlete with her girlfriend of three years, Thamara Cezar, Silva had not spoken publicly about their relationship until Wednesday.
Silva’s Olympic story was called a “powerfully symbolic moment for the country†by The Guardian, in part because Rafaela is from Rio’s City of God favela, a disadvantaged community infamous for gang violence.
Reuters quotes Silva after her victory as saying, “If I can set an example for the kids in the City of God, if they can believe in their dreams and find their dreams through sport, then do it. I hope to be an example for them and I think I can be.â€
Outsports notes the Globo interview “discusses how Cezar is Silva’s press agent and social media manager and the love they have for their three dogs, what they call their ‘kids.’ Silva credits Cezar for being there for her as she trained and prepared for the Olympics.”
“She was there every day and knew how I was feeling, when I was sick when I wasn’t,” Silva told Globo. “Everything I needed, she was there to do it, Â so she is also very important in this victory.”
In January The New York Times reported Silva saying, “The only medal I don’t have is an Olympic medal,†something the athlete will no longer be able to claim. The Times piece outlines Silva’s journey through the sport from street fights in her own neighborhood to a two-time Olympic competitor.
The Rio gold is Silva’s first Olympic medal.