00:00Welcome to Lima, the vibrant heart of Peru, a country known for its ancient cities and breathtaking landscapes.
00:08Lima now proudly hosts its first ever Judo Grand Prix at the Coliseo Eduardo Dibos,
00:14and with an action-packed opening day, the local crowd had plenty to cheer about.
00:19At under 48 kilograms, fresh off her Grand Prix silver in Qingdao,
00:23Mary D. Vargas Ley of Chile claimed her and her country's first ever Grand Prix gold,
00:28catching her opponent with an incredible change of direction.
00:36I love that these tournaments are in this region. For me, it's very amazing.
00:42It's my people. I mean, I am very proud to be Latin, and that's very, very beautiful for me.
00:49I think all Latins work so hard to be in the circuit, to be on the top level of Judo, and I want to represent that also.
00:57IOC member Dr. Paola Perretto was on hand to award the medals.
01:04It was a first Grand Prix final for Isaac Ashpiz in the under 60 kilograms category.
01:10With a closely fought contest, only a single yuko from Ashpiz would decide it.
01:14He was awarded his gold medal by Israel Judo Association president, Mr. Moshe Ponte.
01:20It was an all-Brazilian final in the under 52 kilograms, with Jessica Pereira taking on teammate Gabriela Conceisao.
01:28A yuko score from Pereira saw her take the gold.
01:31And a beautiful display of respect from the teammates.
01:37She was awarded her medal by Peruvian Judo Federation president, Mrs. Maria Martinez-Merciago.
01:44The under 66 kilogram category saw Valerio Acogli pushed to his limits in a contest that ran over five minutes into golden score.
01:52But a beautifully timed counter from Acogli gave him the score and the gold.
02:02I've wanted this medal for a long time.
02:04And all I could think about was that until time runs out, I have to fight to the end.
02:09The medals were awarded by IJF education and coaching director, Mr. Mohamed Meridja.
02:17There was an all-French final in the under 57 kilograms, with Amandine Bouchard fighting upperweight.
02:23But it was Faiza Mokdar who kept up the pressure to snatch a victory from the jaws of defeat.
02:28She was awarded the gold medal by Peruvian Olympic Committee board member, Mrs. Leila Chihuan.
02:33The home team opened their first Grand Prix with a fantastic display of Judo.
02:40And it was all smiles from the locals as Brilith Gamara made history to take the first IJF World Tour medal for Peruvian women.
02:55We'll see you tomorrow for Day 2.
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