Rio 2016: Judoka Rafaela Silva beats depression and bags gold medal

The gold medal bagged by judoka Rafaela Silva Monday (Aug. 8), Brazil's first gold medal in the Olympic Games, marked the end of a journey that started on July 30, 2012. Hailed as a favorite in the London Games, Silva was eliminated in the round of 16 that day. To make things worse, she was the target of racial slurs from internet users dissatisfied with the defeat.

The following days were even harder for the Olympian. After being called “monkey” and reading that she was a “shame to her family,” she came to a decision: to give up fighting. The choice took a lot of people by surprise. Not to her father, however. Luiz Carlos da Silva knew what his daughter needed. “She was upset—not by the defeat, but by what she had to hear from people.”

The change was noticed by people at Reação, a sports institute for children from underprivileged neighborhoods, like Rafaela Silva's, Cidade de Deus.

“She went through a phase during which she didn't practice. She would go to the gym just to watch, but didn't practice. Every time Rafaela was at practice, we saw she was about to burst into tears, and that she didn't want to practice. We would tell her the 2016 Games would be in Rio, do everything to make her practice,” recounted Bianca Gonçalves, a judoka from the institute, and also Rafaela's friend.

Psychological therapy

Rafaela Silva went as far as marking her body with what she was feeling at the time. She tattooed a sentence that means “God only knows what I've suffered and what I did to come this far.” After the games in London, she sank into depression.

Things started to change for the better after Nell Salgado, a psychologist who worked at Reação as a volunteer, came into the picture. Raquel, Rafaela's older sister, arranged for the two to meet. After it became clear to Silva what she expected from judo, the athlete resumed her training sessions.

"Everybody knows I'm not into practicing, but this was a period in which I worked really hard. I'd train every single day, in the afternoon and in the evening. I was sore all over the next day, but that was the sacrifice I was willing to make. I used to leave practice in tears, but it was worth it."

Titles

The new Rafaela started showing results rather quickly. In 2013, she became a world judo champion. The title brought back the confidence she had lost after the London defeat and the racial slurs on the internet. Respected on the martial arts circuit, there was still one achievement to be pursued: the Olympic medal.

For the Olympic Games in Rio, she wished nothing like 2012. “It left me scarred. I stepped into the competition thinking about what happened in London. It's a feeling I didn't want to experience again.”

Social networking

All there was left now was to answer the anonymous person who erroneously called her untalented. When asked about what she would say to her offender, she answered: “There's no need for a message. The medal says it all. It's not the color or how much money you have that brings you a medal. It's the will, the pluck, the determination,” Rafaela Silva concluded.

Translated by Fabrício Ferreira