Neymar Jr sends message to Beatriz Souza as she wins gold medal in Women's Judo at 2024 Olympics
Neymar Jr. was on hand to congratulate Beatriz Souza after she landed Brazil's first gold at the 2024 Paris Olympics. The 26-year-old won gold in the women's over 78 kg category in Judo to win her maiden medal at the Games.
Souza beat Israel's Raz Hershko 1-0 in the final on Friday (August 2) to bag Brazil's fifth-ever gold in Judo and the first in the sport since 2016. Shortly after her historic win, Neymar took to Instagram to share a post from Souza and wrote on his stories:
"Primeiro ouro de do br (Brazil flag, clapping emojis), parabens Beatriz [Translation in English: Brazil's first gold medal, congratulations Beatriz]"
Neymar is arguably one of Brazil's biggest global stars, boasting over 223 million followers on Instagram. Although he isn't with Brazil's football team in Paris, it is safe to assume that the 128-cap international will be keeping track of his nation's performance at the Games.
At the time of writing, the South American nation sits 19th in the medals tally with a total of seven medals — one gold, three silver, and three bronze.
Neymar Jr is an Olympic gold medalist himself
Neymar Jr. is no stranger to Olympic glory himself. He was part of his country's 2016 Olympics football team that won gold on home soil in Rio de Janeiro.
Neymar, who then played for Barcelona, was his nation's captain and scored the winning penalty in his team's win against Germany in the final (1-1 A.E.T, 5-4 on pens). He was also part of the Brazil team that bagged silver four years earlier in London after they lost 2-1 to Mexico in the final.
Now 32, the Brazilian international is arguably slowly approaching the dusk of his trophy-laden career. Moreover, he continues to be plagued by injury troubles, having played just five times for Al-Hilal since joining them from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) in the summer of 2023.
The Brazilian has nevertheless done more than enough to be considered a bonafide legend of the sport. Apart from the FIFA World Cup, he has won every major trophy on offer and is sixth on the list of active top scorers in international football (79). He is also one of only 13 players to have won Olympic gold and a UEFA Champions League title.