Aurélio Fernández Miguel (born 10 March 1964) is a Brazilian

judoka is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

and Olympic champion, and later politician. Among his best sporting achievements are his gold medal at the

1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympiad () and officially branded as Seoul 1988 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 17 September to 2 October 1988 in Seoul, South Korea. 159 nations were represe ...

Seoul Seoul, officially Seoul Special Metropolitan City, is the capital city, capital and largest city of South Korea. The broader Seoul Metropolitan Area, encompassing Seoul, Gyeonggi Province and Incheon, emerged as the world's List of cities b ...

, and a bronze medal at the

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

Sports career

Aurélio Miguel was born on March 10, 1964, in

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

. Due to

asthma Asthma is a common long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wh ...

and the insistence of his father, Aurélio Marin, Aurélio Fernández Miguel began training in judo at the age of four years. Initially, Aurélio disliked judo, and as a child, was terrified of the roughness of the competitions and tournaments. As time passed, he became fond of the sport, and eventually won his first title in 1972. Aurélio Miguel then won the

Paulista Paulista is a municipality in Pernambuco, Brazil, with a population of 334,376 as of 2020. It has the highest Human Development Index (HDI) of the Recife metropolitan area. It is the birthplace of footballer Rivaldo and is also famous for its be ...

tournament many times, and by the year 1980, he was recognized as the best judoka in the state. Afterwards, Miguel started to compete internationally, winning the silver medal at the

1983 Pan American Games The 1983 Pan American Games, officially known as the IX Pan American Games () and commonly known as Caracas 1983, were held in Caracas, Venezuela from August 14 to August 29, 1983. The games were the first major international competition to inclu ...

Caracas Caracas ( , ), officially Santiago de León de Caracas (CCS), is the capital and largest city of Venezuela, and the center of the Metropolitan Region of Caracas (or Greater Caracas). Caracas is located along the Guaire River in the northern p ...

Venezuela Venezuela, officially the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela, is a country on the northern coast of South America, consisting of a continental landmass and many Federal Dependencies of Venezuela, islands and islets in the Caribbean Sea. It com ...

. He won the gold medal in the

1987 Pan American Games The 1987 Pan American Games, officially known as the X Pan American Games, was a major international multi-sport event held in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States, on August 7–23, 1987. Over 4,300 athletes from 38 countries in the Americas ...

, again fighting in the under 95 kg category. In 1987 he also won a bronze medal at the

World Judo Championships The World Judo Championships are the highest level of international judo competition, next to the quadrennial judo events at the Summer Olympic Games. The world championships are held by the International Judo Federation annually, except the c ...

. At the

in Seoul he became Olympic Champion, winning the -95 kg class by beating

Marc Meiling Marc Meiling (born 22 March 1962 in Stuttgart) is a German judoka. Meiling won a silver medal in the half-heavyweight (95 kg) division at the 1988 Summer Olympics The 1988 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIV Olympia ...

from West Germany in the final. At the

1992 Summer Olympics The 1992 Summer Olympics (, ), officially the Games of the XXV Olympiad (, ) and officially branded as Barcelona '92, were an international multi-sport event held from 25 July to 9 August 1992 in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain. Beginning in 1994 ...

in Barcelona he placed ninth. He won a silver medal at the

1993 World Judo Championships The 1993 World Judo Championships were the 18th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Hamilton, Canada from September 30 to October 3, 1993. Medal overview Men Women Medal table References {{1993 in Judo W Worl ...

in Hamilton, losing the final to Hungarian judoka

Antal Kovács Antal Kovács (born 28 May 1972 in Paks, Tolna (county), Tolna) is a Hungary, Hungarian judoka. He was elected Hungarian Sportsman of The Year in 1993 for winning a gold medal at that year's 1993 World Judo Championships, World Judo Championshi ...

. At the

in Atlanta he received a bronze medal, and next year he won a silver medal at the

1997 World Judo Championships The 1997 World Judo Championships were the 20th edition of the World Judo Championships, and were held in Paris in 1997. Medal overview Men Women Medal table Results overview Men 60 kg 65 kg 71 kg 78 kg 86 kg 95 kg +95 kg ...

in Paris, behind gold winner

Pawel Nastula Pavel ( Bulgarian, Russian, Serbian: Павел; Czech, Slovene, and (although Romanian also uses Paul); ; ; ) is a male given name. It is a Slavic cognate of the name Paul (derived from the Greek Pavlos). Pavel may refer to: People Given ...

from Poland.

Political career

Aurélio successfully ran for the

city council A municipal council is the legislative body of a municipality or local government area. Depending on the location and classification of the municipality it may be known as a city council, town council, town board, community council, borough counc ...

in October 2004, representing the Partido Liberal party, being reelected for a second term in 2008 under the banner of the

Republic Party The Liberal Party (, PL) is a far-right political party in Brazil. From its foundation in 2006 until 2019, it was called the Party of the Republic (, PR). The party was founded in 2006 as a merger of the 1985 Liberal Party and the Party of t ...

References

External links

Official website
(archived) * *
Aurélio Miguel at the Câmara de Vereadores de São Paulo website
(archived) {{DEFAULTSORT:Miguel, Aurelio 1964 births Living people Brazilian male judoka Brazilian people of Catalan descent Olympic judoka for Brazil Judoka at the 1988 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1992 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Olympic gold medalists for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Brazilian sportsperson-politicians Liberal Party (Brazil, 1985) politicians Liberal Party (Brazil, 2006) politicians Judoka from São Paulo Olympic medalists in judo Medalists at the 1996 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 1988 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists in judo Pan American Games silver medalists in judo Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Summer World University Games medalists in judo Judoka at the 1983 Pan American Games Judoka at the 1987 Pan American Games FISU World University Games silver medalists for Brazil FISU World University Games bronze medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 1985 Summer Universiade Medalists at the 1983 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1987 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen Municipal Chamber of São Paulo councillors