Luanna Alzuguir is now a three-time Gi world champion, winning her lightweight division in 2009, the absolute in 2010 and now her weight class again in 2011. She says when she woke up on Sunday morning she knew it was going to be a good day. “I was so nervous on Saturday. Why?” she laughs, “I fight all the time! But on Sunday, I woke up confident.”
Luanna in photo by Deb Blyth
Alzuguir says winning every year puts more pressure on her to keep winning, so she has to train really hard and compete more to stay on top. “I compete all the time,” she says, “The Open, the Pan, now here… I’m fighting all the time. It helps me to be good.”
Alzuguir did not compete in the absolute this year because of a rib injury she incurred before the 2011 Pan. “I broke a rib but have still been training,” she says, “I won my weight and the open at the Pan. Then I went back to Brazil to try to heal it, but then I fought the Abu Dhabi Pro. That’s why I was always crying after my matches. I was in so much pain.” Her professor, Fabio Gurgel, told her that she could come to the Worlds this year, but she could only compete in her weight class – no absolute. Still, she won again, even with a broken rib.
Alzuguir is now going to take one month off to rest and heal her body. No training. That’s not easy for an overachiever like Alzuguir, but she knows it’s for the best. Not one to be kept down, she’ll soon be back to training for the ADCC No-Gi in London, which she will attend in September.
Alzuguir wants to thank to her fans for always supporting her, cheering for her, and believing in her.
