By CBDV

Twelve Brazilian judoka are heading to Calgary, Canada, for the 2018 IBSA Judo Pan-American Championships on 20 May.

Four-time Paralympic champion Antonio Tenório in the men’s -100kg headlines the squad which was announced by the Brazilian Confederation of Sport for the Visually Impaired (CBDV).

Arthur Silva (men’s -90kg), Harlley Arruda (men’s -81kg), Karla Cardoso (women’s -52kg), Luan Pimentel (men’s 73kg), Lucia Araújo (women’s -63kg), Luiza Oliano Maria Nubea Lins (women’s -57kg), Meg Emmerich and Rebeca Silva (women’s +70kg), Thiego Silva (men’s -60kg) and Wilians Araújo (men’s +100kg) will also travel to Canada.

The athletes selected recently completed a three-day training phase at the Paralympic Training Centre in São Paulo.

That left coach Alexandre Garcia satisfied, and he hopes that his team will achieve good results:

 "We had an excellent training phase, with a lot of intensity and an emphasis on the technical elements. In the last few days before the competition it is very important that the athletes keep up this pace. The objective of the technical training is that the athletes can have a great competition.”

The Pan-American Championships will be the fourth that the Brazilian national team has competed at in 2018. They have performed well at the German Open, the IBSA Judo World Cup, and the International Paralympic Judo Prize at home in São Paulo so far.

The main target for the team this year is the IBSA Judo World Championships in Lisbon, Portugal from 16-18 November.

As well as fighting for regional titles in Calgary, Brazil will stay on for a three-day international training camp from 21-23 May.

Image credit: Leandro Martins/MPIX/CPB