Alex Aparecido started training when he was 20 years old, quite late for regular standings.
Born in Itumbiara, he revealed a competitive drive since very soon as a student at Atrium academy, under Professor Rodrigo Castro.
In 2010, he almost won his first Brazilian National title, in a final against a certain Marcus Buchecha, but an injury prevented him from competing.
He then endured almost four years aways from competitions, but returned full throttle in 2015, with titles at the Floripa Open, Brasilia Open, among other accolades.
In Barueri, this past weekend, he finished his first two matches at the superheavy division. Then, in the quarterfinals, an attack to his foot almost ended his run.
Hurt, he thought about quitting, but NS Brotherhood leader Leandro Lo gave some valuable advice. “Don’t even tape it, Alex! Just walk it off and go for it. If you want to be a champion, you need to fight hurt.”
The semifinal would be against Erberth Santos, open class finalist that recently had beat Felipe Pena 7-2 in Abu Dhabi. “I went for an omoplata attack and he defended, but the triangle fell in place. i heard the crowd cheering as I tightened. It was one of the craziest moments in my life,” remembers Alex.
In the final, one advantage was enough to beat Rodrigo Martins and conquer the title.
For the future, Alexa is focusing on a spot for the 2017 WPJJC, once visa problems will prevent him from competing at the 2016 Worlds.
With reporting by Carlos Arthur Jr.
