Flávio Vianna de Ulhôa Canto (born 16 April 1975, in

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

, England) 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 ...

who competed in Men's 81 kg

Judo 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 ...

. He won the bronze medal at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

. He is the founder and president of the Instituto Reação, and also presenter of the TV shows ''Corujão do Esporte'' on

TV Globo TV Globo (stylized as tvglobo; , ), formerly known as Rede Globo de Televisão (; shortened to Rede Globo) or simply known as Globo, is a Brazilian free-to-air Television broadcasting, television network, launched by media proprietor Roberto M ...

and ''Sensei'' on SporTV.

Biography

Flavio Canto was born in Oxford, England, where his father had a doctorate in nuclear physics. At two years old he came to Brazil and started Judo at fourteen. Despite starting

at a relatively advanced age, he was still able to compete at the national level in only five years. He is also a 6th degree black belt in Brazilian jiu-jitsu. He married actress and presenter Fiorella Mattheis in 2013. They divorced in 2014.

Judo career

Flávio Canto was selected in national team for the first time in 1995 when he won the bronze medal at the 1995 Pan American Games in

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

. In 1996 he got the 7th place at the Olympics in Atlanta and in 1999 was silver medalist in the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

. He lost the qualifiers for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games to Tiago Camilo, won the gold medal at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

, and then defeated Camilo to fight in the 2004 Athens Olympics, where Canto got the Olympic bronze medal. In the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, Canto wound up out of the podium after injuring his elbow in the semifinal. He was World Ranking Leader U81kg in 2010, and retired from competition in 2012.

Instituto Reação social project

In 2003 Flávio Canto created Instituto Reação, a

non-governmental organization A non-governmental organization (NGO) is an independent, typically nonprofit organization that operates outside government control, though it may get a significant percentage of its funding from government or corporate sources. NGOs often focus ...

that promotes human development and social inclusion through sports and education, promoting judo from the sport initiation to a level of high performance. Instituto Reação works in low-income communities in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

including Rocinha, Pequena Cruzada, Cidade de Deus and Tubiacanga. The Institute serves about 1,000 children and young people between 4 and 25 years old and has played a prominent role in competitions, including having helped train the current Olympic and world junior judo champion, Rafaela Lopes Silva.

References

External links

* * *
Fightland - Inside Instituto Reação Flavio Canto's social project in Rio de Janeiro

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Profile

Blog do Flávio Canto

Instituto Reação
{{DEFAULTSORT:Canto, Flavio 1975 births Living people English emigrants to Brazil Judoka at the 1996 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 2004 Summer Olympics Judoka at the 1995 Pan American Games Judoka at the 1999 Pan American Games Judoka at the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic judoka for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in judo Medalists at the 2004 Summer Olympics Brazilian male judoka Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists in judo Pan American Games silver medalists in judo Pan American Games bronze medalists in judo South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in judo Competitors at the 2002 South American Games Medalists at the 1995 Pan American Games Medalists at the 1999 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian sportsmen