The Brazilian men’s and women’s teams were crowned champions in both the men’s and women’s competitions at the 2022 International Blind Sports Federation (IBSA) Goalball Americas Championships in Sao Paulo on Tuesday (22 February).

Both sides went undefeated in the tournament, which was the biggest ever edition with a record 13 men’s and 12 women’s teams.

In a huge show of strength the Brazilian men and women overcame the USA and Canada, respectively.

The women defended their title from 2019 with a 5-0 win. Jessica Vitorino – who ended as the top scorer with 22 goals overall – led the scoring with three goals in the final.

Moniza Lima added two more whilst the Brazilian defence remained impenetrable.

In the bronze medal match, Paralympic silver medallists the USA faced debutants Argentina.

The USA ended the first half with a 2-0 lead courtesy of Asya Miller. Goals in the second half from Libby Daugherty, Eliana Mason, Lisa Czechowski and one more for Miller gave the US a 6-0 win to retain their silver from 2019.

Despite missing-out on the podium, Argentina will be pleased with their performance.

In the men’s final Leomon Morinho and Jose Marcia Sousa – known as Parazinho – scored five goals each to secure their team’s fourth consecutive title against the USA.

Brazil were first to score early on but the USA kept their opponents in check as Tyler Merren levelled the scores. It was however not to be for the North American side as Brazilian found their rhythm.

Seven more goals in the first-half gave Brazil a strong lead at the break.

The interval did nothing to halt the host’s momentum and a further four goals went flying in with one in reply from the USA. The match ended with Brazil’s 12^th goal to seal the gold.

Andre Dantas, returning to the Brazilian side after a break and scoring a goal in the final, said: “Returning, for me, was obviously a personal goal. But when you come here, it’s as if the group became one, everyone who came in during the game played a good role. Brazil has the conditions to remain at the top for many years.”

In the clash for bronze Canada reinforced their position as one of the top teams in the region with a 10-6 win over Colombia.

Similar to Argentina in the women’s, the Colombians leave Sao Paulo in a great position having reached fourth on their debut.

The next step for teams is the 2022 IBSA Goalball World Championships taking place in July in Hangzhou, China.

Top five scorers

Men

Women