We just want to say a massive congratulations to Igor Almeida for winning gold yesterday down in Melbourne at the UAEJJF National Pro. It has been a long road back from some big injuries to his back and then a shoulder reconstruction, but he has put in a lot of work and showed that he is ready to reach his potential. A lot of people see the success but not many get to see what actually happens behind the scenes with the enormous ups and downs you go through when injured and then the amount of hard work and discipline it takes to get back to the level you were at and ultimately, past it. Injuries suck but they do teach you a lot of things. You are never done, you might have bad days but if you just keep working hard and persisting and being grateful for what you do have you will get through it. Igor has done this and I know he is very focused for up coming comps. Well done mate. So proud of you.
Professor Bruno Alves was also happy with the performance posting the following.
"Well boys!! Double gold today☝️ Inspired by Igor Almeida 6 months ago Igor had reconstructed shoulder and now is back on the mats winning a category above his division and beating a World Class Brown belt in the finals👊 Never give up, hard times always will come but not to stay👊"
Igor was weighing 64.7kg on Thursday and competed in the 77kg class on Sunday. It was his first comp at brown belt and he came up against a guy who finished second at the worlds last year so it was a great test.