Flamengo's judo team is represented at the Budapest World Championships with three athletes

Flamengo will be well represented at the 2024 World Judo Championships, which will take place from June 13th to 20th in Budapest, Hungary. Three Flamengo athletes have been called up to represent Brazil in the season's main competition: Rafaela Silva, Marcelo Gomes, and Karol Gimenes.

Olympic medalist and one of the greatest names in the history of Brazilian judo, Rafaela Silva will compete in the World Championships for the 11th time in her career. The Mengão athlete has two gold medals under her belt at the World Championships – she was champion at home, in Rio de Janeiro (2013), and also in Tashkent (2022). Rafaela also participated in Rotterdam 2009, Tokyo 2010, Paris 2011, Chelyabinsk 2014, Astana 2015, Budapest 2017, Baku 2018, Tokyo 2019 and Doha 2023.

"I'm counting on the Mengão fans and my expectations are always the best possible: to represent the nation in the best way possible. I'm training really hard to face my opponents, always ready to give my best in the competition and return with another medal at the World Championship for the nation," said Rafaela, who fights on the 16th.

In the men's competition, the red-and-black representative will be Marcelo Gomes, currently ranked 12th in the world in his category. The judoka arrives on a high after winning bronze at the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam, and will be participating in his third World Championship – he already participated in the Tashkent 2022 and Abu Dhabi 2024 editions (valid for the World Mixed Team Championship). Marcelo takes to the mat on Tuesday (17).

"I'm in the final stages of preparation for the World Championship. I'm looking forward to bringing home this gold medal. I'm in the best shape I can be, I've trained hard, and we've followed the program to the letter to get to the competition and achieve this feat. I hope and count on everyone's support," he said.

In the women's division, the latest addition is Karol Gimenes, who will make her World Championship debut in the main category. Having enjoyed a strong season, Karol was called up after excelling in the first half of the year and is now preparing to fight on the 18th.

"I'm very happy to be going to the World Championships. Every day that passes, I feel more prepared and have great expectations for the competition. When the preliminary list rumors first came out, I was very tense because I really wanted it. The Women's Team is very strong, and thank God I was one of the selected ones. As soon as the list came out, I felt at peace knowing I had a good first half of the year. Now it's time to put the finishing touches on it. I'm fine-tuning the final details, especially mentally, and I feel ready to win. Whoever handles the competition best will win. And I'm ready for that," said the judoka.