Owner of three bronze medals at the Olympics, judoka from Rio Grande do Sul Mayra Aguiar, 33, announced, this Thursday (26), her retirement from the mats.
In a text on social media, the athlete said she went as far as her body allowed. “And, even when he didn’t allow it anymore, I forced it for a few more years, because I’m stubborn (lol).”
Mayra won bronze medals at the London 2012, Rio de Janeiro-2016 and Tokyo 2020 Games in the 75 kg category. She was also in the Beijing-2008 and Paris-2024 editions.
Before Rebeca Andrade, Mayra had been the first Brazilian to have three Olympic medals in individual categories.
Mayra is also a three-time world champion (2014, 2017 and 2019) and has four Pan-American medals, one of which is gold.
“Judo shaped my life, my values and my worldview. I will be eternally grateful for everything I experienced on and off the mat,” wrote the athlete.
Born in Porto Alegre, she has a career marked by seven knee surgeries and spent 16 months without fighting between 2020 and 2021. Recovered in July 2021, she reached the podium with bronze in Tokyo.
In Japan, Mayra agreed upon hearing that the great Olympic stories, those that go down in the history of the sport, are the result of twists and turns.
“I think you can say yes, it’s a question of overcoming. All my victories came from great turns”, said the judoka, on that occasion.
In Paris, after new injuries, Mayra was eliminated in the first round to Italian Alice Bellandi, who ended up with the gold medal.
“I’ve already gone beyond my limit. It’s been a while since I’ve been lying to my body, lying that everything is fine. I’ve had eight surgeries on my body, the first when I was 16 or 17 years old. I still feel that surgery today. And I feel the other. And I feel the last one. I learned to train like this, to fight like this, but in recent years it has been more difficult”, he said, through tears.
Mayra’s problems are mainly in her knees, with subsequent ligament ruptures and surgical procedures.
In her farewell text this Thursday, Mayra thanked her coaches and parents, who introduced her to the sport at the age of six. And also to his sister, who “was a training partner, coach, physiotherapist”.
He also thanked the Porto Alegre club Sogipa, his second home since he was 11 years old.
