Final: Francine Echevarria (PUR) vs Rafaela Rodrigues (BRA)
Francine Echevarria (PUR) was a revelation in the morning session, arriving in Lima with rock solid, tough judo and a never-give-up attitude. This earned her a place in her first World Judo Tour final. There she met another first-timer, Rafaela Rodrigues (BRA).
Echevarria was first to score, countering Rodrigues for a yuko, but her lead was short-lived as the Brazilian judoka made her mark in ne-waza and held Echevarria for ippon. Brazil is beginning to make waves on the medal tally!
After the final, Rodrigues spoke about her win, “I feel immense gratitude. Everything worked out smoothly, proving that all our hard work in training is paying off. This is my very first grand prix and senior World Judo Tour event, so winning here in Lima is extra special. It brings back great memories from my 2024 World Cadet Championship final here.”
Bronze medal contest: Driulys Rivas (PER) vs Soumiya Iraoui (MAR)
Driulys Rivas was determined to win a medal for the host nation and after a blistering morning session she came out focused and ready against African champion Soumiya Iraoi. She held her nerve under the cheers of the home crowd and at the end of normal time was ahead by 2 penalties to one.
Golden score began in the same vein with the Peruvian athlete leading the pace. After 44 seconds of extra time, Iraoui knew she had to come forward and ran at Rivas, almost being punished severely for it, a koshi-guruma coming extremely close to ending the race. However, after another 90 seconds the same situation arrived again with Iraoui needing to attack in order to save herself from the third shido. This put Rivas squarely in the driving seat and a massive koshi-guruma was scored ippon. She knelt for a moment to soak up both the relief and the joy of winning a very special medal for Peru.
Bronze medal contest: Brillith Gamara (PER) vs Tihea Topolovec (CRO)
Having watched her teammate win a bronze medal, Brillith Gamara could fight with both belief and pressure, opposites that could swing the contest either way. The early part of the contest did not go her way though, Topolovec throwing for a waza-ari. Gamara’s response was immediate. She threw for her own yuko and working on the ground to convert it into something more but it wasn’t to be; the Croatian escaped.
Moving into the last minute, the crowd cheered loudly for their judoka. She gave everything she had for a chance to step on then podium but Topolovec’s early waza-ari proved to be decisive. Croatia had their first medal of this grand prix.
Final (-52 kg)
Bronze Medal Fights (-52 kg)
Final Results (-52 kg)
