Brazilian judoka Alana Martins Maldonado celebrates after winning the women’s judo 70kg J2 final at the Paris 2024 Paralympic Games at Champ de Mars in Paris on September 6, 2024. | JULIEN DE ROSA/AFP via Getty Images
Brazilian judoka Alana Maldonado has once again become Paralympic champion.
Maldonado capped a day of competition on the tatami on Friday with a dominant victory over China’s Wang Yue to win her second consecutive Paralympic gold medal in the 70kg J2 category.
The two-time world champion wasted no time, taking Wang down with a Wasa-Ali within the first 30 seconds of the bout, and Maldonado came close to ending the bout with a powerful choke soon after, but was unable to get his arm completely under Wang’s chin.
The two fought for position for the next two minutes, both of them nearly receiving a shido (a judo penalty) for being defensive. They traded kicks to each other’s legs, looking for openings, but Maldonado surprised Wang with a throw, dropping the 2020 bronze medalist onto his shoulders and scoring a second wasa-ari to give Wang the ippon victory.
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As Maldonado tried to pin Wang down, unaware that the referee had given him a second throw, the two-time Paralympic gold medallist stood up and held up two fingers on each hand in victory.
Friday’s result was not just a medal win, but a personal victory for Maldonado, whose gold medal came a year after a torn anterior cruciate ligament sidelined her for most of 2023.
Brazil’s athletes have won three medals in total, two golds at the Rio Olympics and one silver at the Paralympics. There could also be changes at the top of the world rankings. Wang and Maldonado went into Friday’s final ranked first and second, respectively, but a win for Maldonado could be enough to propel her to the coveted No. 1 spot in the world rankings.
Source: Outsports – www.outsports.com
