Rochele Nunes, a Portuguese judoka in the +78 kilograms category, was eliminated from the round of 16 at the Olympic Games this Friday after losing to Larisa Ceric, a Bosnian athlete, by ippon, reports Lusa. Consequently, Portugal ends its participation in judo with the bronze medal won by Patrícia Sampaio.
The athlete, who had already competed in Tokyo 2020, won her first match at the Arena Champ-de-Mars against Sarra Mzougui from Tunisia.
“I wasn’t expecting it, I ended up being caught because I was trapped,” she explained in the mixed zone about the shime waza (strangulation) she suffered. Rochele was not actually expecting this outcome as she is the eighth seed and lost to an opponent with a lower ranking (16th seed). The Portuguese athlete also had a favorable balance in matches against Ceric—five victories and three losses.
Despite the apparent historical imbalance, it did not reflect in the tatami. The athletes were even penalized for passivity after 1 minute and 20 seconds, but midway through the match, the Bosnian managed to take the Portuguese to the ground. The Portuguese athlete thus says goodbye to the Games, as only advancing to the “quarterfinals” would allow for a repechage.
Rochele, despite the loss, admits to being proud of her journey, which she acknowledged has been difficult following the death of her brother. “A loss never feels good. I know it’s part of it. I am very proud of my journey, of getting here. Being among the best is very difficult. I have gone through so many tough things,” she stated to Lusa.
The athlete lost a seven-year-old brother six months ago in what she described as “a very big tragedy.” Nunes acknowledged that she “accelerated the mourning process” because of her participation in the Games, which she had questioned as she “didn’t know if she would have the strength.”
“But I think that if there is something I learned in becoming Portuguese it was exactly about how resilient the Portuguese are. And, unfortunately, that is life, bad things happen to everyone and I had to be strong, I was strong today, I feel like I gave my all,” said the judoka, who was born in Brazil 35 years ago.
The athlete confessed that she will now “go through the processes” that she rushed and will take the opportunity to spend time with her family and husband. “I will make the most of their affection that I will need now,” she said. Besides that, she will also now “enjoy Patrícia Sampaio’s achievement. I know she deserves it and I am very happy for her.”
Among the seven Portuguese judokas who competed at Paris 2024, in a participation that ended this Friday, Rochele Nunes and Catarina Costa reached the second match, while Taís Pina (-70 kg) and João Fernando (-81 kg), in their Olympic debuts, along with Bárbara Timo (-63 kg) and Jorge Fonseca (-100 kg) lost in their first matches.
Patrícia Sampaio (-78kg) managed to bring home the “bronze” on Thursday, repeating the feat of Nuno Delgado in Sydney 2000, Telma Monteiro in Rio 2016, and Jorge Fonseca in Tokyo 2020.