Rafaela Silva

Rafaela Lopes Silva (Portuguese: Rafaela Lopes Silva, April 24, 1992 -) was born in Rio de Janeiro. She is a Brazilian female judo athlete who specializes in the 57 kg category. Silva's first contact with sports was football. Later, due to frequent violence in the streets near her home, her parents sent her to judo training classes at the age of 7. Silva won the first gold medal for the Brazilian delegation at the 2016 Rio Olympics. She announced in an interview two days after winning the gold medal that she came out as gay. Her girlfriend is Thamara Cezar, and they both belong to the Institute Reaction club. In March 2017, she won the 2016 Brazilian Female Athlete of the Year award.