The IBJJF Orlando Summer Open 2024 took place on July 26th, 2024 and there was a lot of action across several divisions. Although most of the attention was on the adult black belts competing, Sarah Galvao stood out for yet another flawless performance in the gi brown belt divisions. She won gold medals in both the lightweight and absolute divisions, proving once again that she’s almost certainly to make a big impact when she does get to compete at the highest level. Sophia Cassella was another top prospect who made an appearance, although she ended up taking a default gold medal in the no gi featherweight division.
There was a few more double champions in the black belt divisions too, with Renan Cruz winning both the ultra-heavyweight and absolute division in the gi. He stood next to his R1NG BJJ teammate Enderson Dias on the podium in the absolute, as Dias took home the silver medal after winning gold at heavyweight. The middleweight and light-featherweight divisions also featured some top competitors, as Natan Chueng and Tadiyah Danforth won those brackets respectively. Women’s divisions were pretty thin on the ground at the event but the final of the featherweight bracket saw Maria Claudia take gold and Brenda Wunner take silver.
The men’s lightweight division also stood out thanks to a final with two big names, as Guilherme Fernandes won gold and Richar Nogueira took home the silver medal. Nogueira returned on the second day to win the no gi lightweight division, and he wasn’t the only grappler to compete on both days of the IBJJF Orlando Summer Open 2024. Thomas Bracher had to settle for silver in the gi super-heavyweight division, but he redeemed himself with a gold medal in the no gi edition. Jose Jurema was the double champion on the second day, winning heavyweight and the absolute in a day full of tough matches.
