Brazil, or rather Flamengo, concluded its participation in the 9th World Masters Judo Championship, held from June 18th to 24th at the Ibirapuera Gymnasium in São Paulo. The competition, aimed at judokas over 30 years old, featured 1.200 athletes from 53 countries.

The red-and-black team won a significant number of medals, surpassing expectations and surpassing strong opponents. The gold medal in katame-no-kata went to the red-and-black duo of Graciela Klachquin and José de Almeida (ukê/CRCAX). The duo also secured the bronze medal in ju-no-kata.

In shiai, Hamilton Corrêa, Aurélio Lopes, and Graciela Klachquin also secured gold in their respective weight classes. Rubro-Negro's Alberto Carvalho and Murilo Bezerra won silver medals. Ezio Nóbrega Júnior competed and secured bronze.

In the absolute, more gold. In addition to the silver medal in shiai, Murilo Bezerra secured another gold medal for the highly regarded red-and-black team.  

The 2007 World Championship is a qualifier for the 2008 Masters, which will be held in Belgium.

Photo: master athlete website.