 Buzacarini in 2016 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Full name | Rafael Augusto Buzacarini | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 October 1991 (age 32) Barra Bonita, São Paulo, Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Occupation | Judoka | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 185 cm (6 ft 1 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Country | Brazil | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Sport | Judo | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight class | –100 kg | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Club | Associação de Judô Vila Sônia[1] | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Coached by | Luiz Shinohara | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Achievements and titles | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Olympic Games | R16 (2016) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| World Champ. | R16 (2019, 2021, 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Pan American Champ. | 
(2020, 2022) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medal record
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| Profile at external databases | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| IJF | 11829 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| JudoInside.com | 89438 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Updated on 11 March 2024. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Rafael Augusto Buzacarini (born 6 October 1991) is a heavyweight judoka from Brazil.[2] He won two silver medals at the 2020 and 2022 Pan American Judo Championships and qualified for the 2016 and 2020 Summer Olympics.[1][3]
He began practicing judo at the age of five, with encouragement from his parents. He moved to São Paulo, starting to defend the Vila Sônia Judo Association. In 2012, he was runner-up in the Brazilian under-23 championship. The following year, he was a silver medalist at the Grand Prix in Almaty, Kazakhstan and a bronze medalist at the Grand Prix in Qingdao, China. He also won two bronze medals at the Universiade held in Kazan, Russia.[4]
At the 2014 Pan American Judo Championships held in Guayaquil, Ecuador, he won a bronze medal in the Half-heavyweight (100 kg) category. [5]
He competed in the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, reaching the round of 16 in the Men's 100 kg category, where he was defeated by eventual bronze medalist, Japanese Ryunosuke Haga.[6]
At the 2019 World Judo Championships, Buzacarini won two fights and reached the round of 16, where he was eliminated by Elmar Gasimov, Olympic runner-up in 2016.[7]
He represented Brazil at the 2020 Summer Olympics,[8][9] held in 2021, in Tokyo, Japan. He was defeated in his debut in the Men's 100 kg category by Belgian Toma Nikiforov. He represented Brazil in the mixed team competition, with a 4-2 defeat to Israel.[10][11]
At the 2020 Pan American Judo Championships held in Guadalajara, Mexico, he won a silver medal in the Half-heavyweight (100 kg) category. [12]
At the 2021 World Judo Championships, Buzacarini debuted against Estonian judoka Grigori Minaskin and achieved one of the most beautiful ippon of the day at the Laszlo Papp Arena. The Brazilian aggressively attacked the Dutchman Michael Korrel, bronze in the last World Championships, in Tokyo 2019, but ended up being eliminated in the round of 16.[13]
At the 2022 Pan American Judo Championships held in Lima, Peru, he won a silver medal in the Half-heavyweight (100 kg) category. [14]
At the 2022 World Judo Championships, Bye in the opening round, Buzacarini (12th in the ranking) debuted with an ippon against Kazakh Islam Bozbayev (44th), but in the round of 16, he had to face Korrel again (no. 2 in the world), who eliminated him from the World Championship in 2021. The dispute with Korrel was fierce (both received two shido) and well balanced, but the Dutchman managed a waza-ari and came out on top, advancing in the competition.[15]
Number 17 in the world in the light heavyweight category (-100kg), Buzacarini entered the 2023 World Judo Championships and advanced to the round of 16, winning two fights, but fell to Canadian Kyle Reyes, world runner-up last year.[16]
