Worlds day 2: Jonnatas Gracie, Andressa Cintra, Maggie Grindatti shine with double gold

Lightweight Jonnatas Gracie won the absolute division and got his brown belt from André Galvão. Instagram

This Friday another legion of athletes packed the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach at the 2017 World Jiu-Jitsu IBJJF Championship. The second day of competition featured blue-, purple- and brown-belts.

Three athletes stood out from even the champion tier by bagging two gold medals: Andresa Cintra (Checkmat) at brown, Jonnatas Gracie (Atos) at purple and Maggie Grindatti (Fight Sports) at blue.

Jonnatas, who receive the name Gracie from his BJJ-loving dad, gave an example of technique cancelling a disadvantage in size. First he won seven matches in the 104-strong lightweight division — the final saw him beat Lucas Nascimento (Alliance).

Then he took on the absolute field, of athletes mostly bigger than himself. Jonnatas beat one by one and reached the final against ultra-heavyweight Vitor Marques (Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu), whom he also defeated. Jonnatas had earned his double gold — and then Atos leader André Galvão promoted him to brown-belt on the spot.

Galvão later went online to praise Jonnatas:

I’m super proud of this guy so happy for him… Amazing performance. 19 years old becoming the best Purple Belt of 2017 winning light weight division & the absolute. Jonnatas trains at Atos since last year. His dedication is impressive.

Best Purple Belt of the World ?? || my student @jonnatas_gracie won double gold today Worlds 2017 defeating 3 Ultra Heavy Weights in a row (1st, 2nd & 3rd Place from Ultra Heavy Purple). I’m super proud of this guy so happy for him…amazing performance. 19 years old becoming the best Purple Belt of 2017 winning light weight division & the absolute. Jonnatas trains at @atosjiujitsuhq since last year. His dedication is impressive. I’m so happy right now hahahaha! Congrats Jonnatas and all his team mates from San Diego Ca. We did it!!! Praise God… ?? #Discipline #HardWork #Dedication #AtosHQ #JonnatasGracie #Champion #Jiujitsu #BJJ || Melhor faixa roxa do mundo ?? || Meu aluno @jonnatas_gracie ganhou o ouro duplo hoje Worlds 2017 derrotando 3 pesadíssimos um@atras do outro (1º, 2º e 3º lugar do Pesadíssimo Roxa). Estou super orgulhoso desse cara tão feliz por ele … performance incrível. 19 anos, tornando-se o melhor faixa roxa de 2017, ganhando o peso leve e o absoluto. Jonnatas treina no @atosjiujitsuhq desde o ano passado. Sua dedicação é impressionante. Estou muito feliz por ele hahahaha! Parabéns Jonnatas e todos os seus companheiros de equipe de San Diego Ca. Nós fizemos isso!!! Glórias a Deus … ?? #Disciplina #Hardwork #Dedicação #AtosHQ #JonnatasGracie #Champion #Jiujitsu #BJJ

A post shared by Andre Galvao Official (@galvaobjj) on Jun 2, 2017 at 11:26pm PDT

Women’s

Andressa Cintra also mowed down her competition. The brown-belt won medium heavyweight and absolute gold, both against fellow Checkmat fighter Samantha Cook.

At blue, Maggie Grindatti was the big winner. In order to beat the medium heavyweight field, she won three fights before defeating Rebecca Faris (MXT Fight Academy) in the final. Then she won four fights in the open division, including the final against Chloe Mcnally (Unity Jiu-Jitsu).

Teams

At the end of day 2, Atos led the men’s race with 64 points, trailed by GFTeam at 37 and Cícero Costha at 27. Checkmat was leading the women’s race with 50, followed by Gracie Barra at 43 and Alliance at 34.

You can click here to get the complete results so far.