Souza and Menezes know how to peak at the right time

Brazil’s Beatriz Souza, 26, is a top player having been a World silver medalist (and twice bronze medalist). She also has four IJF World Tour gold medals to her name. But she was not a top prospect. Many pundits would have said France’s Romane Dicko, a former World Champion, would have the edge especially since the Games were in France.

As it happened, Souza had to face Dicko in the semifinal. Since 2020, she had fought Dicko four times and lost all four times, including the final of the 2022 World Championships. But this was Souza’s chance for Olympic glory and she wouldn’t let that slip. She gave Dicko as good as she got and dragged her into Golden Score.

There, Souza took hold of Dicko's belt, Georgian-style, and very nearly rolled her for a score. Dicko managed to delay the roll long enough that it was not considered a score. But her arm was trapped and Souza was able to leverage on it to pull her into a hold-down. Once the much-larger Souza clamped on, there was no chance of Dicko escaping. To the dismay of the home crowd, the French player submitted, which was quite a surprise since it wasn’t an armlock or a strangle.

In the final, Souza faced Raz Hershko of Israel, whom she had fought four times, and had won all four times. So, she went into the final with a big psychological advantage. Souza threw Raz with a rather sloppy uchimata that scored waza-ari nevertheless. With that score secured, Souza was able to maintain her lead all the way to the end of regular time, and win herself a gold medal.

Interestingly, Souza is coached by Sarah Menezes, the first female Olympic champion from Brazil who won a gold medal at the 2012 London Olympics. Menezes was a -48kg player.