Sergio Pessoa

Biography

A second-generation Olympian, Sergio Pessoa made his Olympic debut at London 2012 with a top-20 finish in the 60kg division. He had a bye through the first round before droppinghis opening match to Kazakhstan’s Yerkebulan Kossayev in golden score time. Among Pessoa’s career highlights is a silver medal at the 2012 Pan American Championships as well as several podiums on the World Cup and Grand Prix circuits. He was able to qualify for the 2012 Olympic Team despite missing a large portion of the qualification period due to injury. He made his world championship debut in 2009 just three months after surgery for bursitis in his right knee. In December 2010 he dislocated a hip during a training camp. He returned to competition in May 2011 but tore his left ACL in June and underwent surgery once again. He recorded a career-high world championship result in 2013, finishing tied for ninth. But Pessoa has also endured more injury trouble, undergoing two surgeries to reconstruct his left ACL. After finishing fifth at the 2015 Pan Am Games in Toronto, he stood on his first international podium in almost two years when he won silver at the Asian Open Taipei World Cup in July 2015. Pessoa won silver at the Pan American Championships in 2016, his first podium finish at the event since 2012.

Getting to know…

Family: Father Sergio is his coach and a 1988 Brazilian Olympian who finished ninth in the 60kg weight class in Seoul… Mother Claudia… Older brother Diego was a competitive swimmer for McGill University… Younger brother Danilo played soccer for Université de Montréal… Coming to Canada: The family moved from São Paulo to Kedgwick, New Brunswick in 2005 when his dad got a job coaching judo in a small club… His father had been a stock broker but wanted his sons to have a better life and a better education… They stayed in New Brunswick for a year until his father was invited to coach at the elite Shidokan Judo Club in Montreal… Gained his Canadian citizenship in 2009… Getting into the Sport: Started judo at age 4, following his father and aunt into the sport… Outside Interests: Enjoys surfing and soccer… Avid stock market follower… Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Concordia University… Odds and Ends: Nickname: Serginho… Favourite motto: Fight your next fight like it will be your last…