Judoka Rafaela Silva wins Brazil’s first Olympic gold medal of 2016

Rafaela Silva took home gold in women’s judo, giving Brazil its first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics.

Brazil won its first gold medal of the 2016 Olympics on Monday, as Rafaela Silva won the under-57kg judo competition. 

Silva defeated Mongolia’s Sumiya Dorjsuren in the gold medal match. All four under-57kg medalists from the 2012 Games qualified for this year’s tournament, but it was Silva who came out on top. 

Brazil’s only other medal thus far is Felipe Almeida Wu’s silver in the 10m air pistol. 

Silva, 24, also won gold on home soil at the world championships in 2013. She is a native of Rio de Janeiro. As Sports Illustrated’s Alexander Wolff wrote last month, Silva spent her early years in the infamous City of God. 

Brazil’s Sarah Menezes also won gold in the under-48kg weight class at the 2012 Olympics.