Olympic champion reveals why she left Flamengo | OneFootball

Who is the Olympic medalist who bid farewell to Flamengo to represent Reação?

For five years, judoka Rafaela Silva had a successful stint with Flamengo. However, the gold medalist at the 2016 Olympics decided, in 2025, to leave Mengão for Instituto Reação, but she never publicly revealed the reason until this Tuesday (24).

— I had a renewal offer from the club and the proposal from Instituto Reação came up. We need challenges, we need to recharge our energy. When we go through an Olympic edition, a lot changes -, stated the athlete, adding that:

— People said: ‘After Paris, Rafaela will stop,’ but I felt it wasn't yet time to retire. I thought: ‘I need to change,’ and it was indeed when I said I thought it was time to go back home. I returned happy -, highlighted Rafaela.

What does it mean that Rafaela “went back home”?

Before joining Flamengo, the Olympic champion in Rio 2016 started judo at the age of seven at Instituto Reação. There, the fighter became a world under-20 champion, which marked the beginning of a victorious journey.

Thus, the judoka was announced by the Most Beloved in 2021. At the club, the athlete won the world championship in 2022, gold at the Pan American Games in Santiago 2023, and helped the Brazilian team win bronze in the team event at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.

How is Flamengo doing without Rafaela?

Without Rafaela, the judokas of Flamengo are competing in 2026, for example, in the Brazil Trophy, the Brazilian Championship, and the Club GP. Among the highlights is the newly arrived Gabrielle Ferreira, 28, who won a gold medal for Brazil at the 2025 Pan American Judo Championship.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.