USADA letter says Gabi is PED free

After Andre Galvão, another 2013 Pan champion got a letter from the USADA (US Anti-Doping Agency) with some great news.

The female heavyweight and absolute black belt winner, Gabrielle Garcia, is in the clear for any performance enhancing substances, according to the letter.

Gabi posted the letter in her Facebook page this Sunday.

To GRACIEMAG, she said: “I have always had to prove to other people a lot of things in my career. People seem to forget that I was always big, but I lost many times before I became the athlete I am today. I lost to Ana Laura Cordeiro, to Ana Carol Lebre, to Lana Stefanac. Today, I train to overcome my limits because I want to be number 1. First they said I had no technique, then they said I was too big and after that they said I was on the juice. People give no value to hard training and to everything I give up to be a champion. I deserve to be a champion and I sincerely expect that all the people that talked about me and judged me are now sorry and start thinking about what they say before they say it. I showed them that my doping is my will power. If I have to be tested after the Worlds again, I will, but I hope that people start respecting me as an athlete that trains and dedicates to the sport. I know they will come with other excuses, but if I was going to care about all that people say, I would have abandoned the sport a long time ago.”

In the next days, the USADA must release all the other results from the athletes tested after the 2013 Pan.

Caio Terra, champion and tested in Irvine, one of the major supporters of the drug testing. Photo: Ivan Trindade / GracieMag.com

Professors requested and the IBJJF worked seriously to implant the drug testing for the first time in Jiu-Jitsu. In partnership with the agency United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA), the tests were promoted for the first time during Pan 2013 in Irvine, Calif. last weekend.

Because of the contract, the Federation staff can’t talk about the athletes selected for the urine test. However, the champions commented on it, despite the initial strangeness.

“It was a bit embarrassing, because of the presence of a woman there watching you. But they are right, this is the way,” praised Gabi Garcia, one of the athletes who was seen heading for the test.

Other names were the absolute champion Marcus Buchecha, Andre Galvao, Roberto Tussa, Caio Terra, Rafa and Gui Mendes, Luiza Monteiro and Vanessa Oliveira.

Featherweight athlete and bronze medalist Augusto Tanquinho talked about the draw process: “They randomly selected the categories of black belt, not the athletes. So when we had the result of the champions of each, they were called for the test.”

For some athletes, the most uncomfortable part of the exam was not being able to see some of the finals, since they were being tested.

“I liked the initiative. I expected to be tested, but I was not drawn this time. It is better for the competitors and clearer to the public. In Jiu-Jitsu, nothing replaces hard work,” praised Michael Langhi, lightweight champion.

The USADA, which conducts tests in accordance with the international rules of the IOC, has examined athletes in the Olympic and Paralympic Games since 2000 in the U.S. The agency will report test results to athletes when they are completed.

Antônio Tenório and Max Trombini

Completely blind due to his retinas becoming detached as a child, Antônio Tenório surmounts any hardship in his way. Proof of it is in his results on the mat, having won the 100 kg division of the Paralympics four times.

The fighter has won gold ever since the Atlanta Games of 1996. To repeat the feat at London 2012, Tenório decided to brush up on his ground game. To do so, he went to practice Jiu-Jitsu at Cia Paulista, an academy led by Master Max Trombini, also a black belt in judo.

“He trained with us on Wednesday, with the competition team. The guy’s a beast at passing guard, but there’s still work to be done on his guard game. He said he’ll be back to train with the team, which makes us really proud,” remarks Max.

The team