Telma Monteiro

Telma Monteiro is one of the most decorated judoka in Portuguese sporting history. Competing in the U57kg division for most of her career, she built an extraordinary record across almost two decades at the top level of international judo.

Her Olympic highlight came at the Rio 2016 Games where she captured the bronze medal, finally adding Olympic success to an already impressive résumé. Monteiro had been close before and her persistence paid off on the biggest stage.

On the world stage she reached the final four times, finishing as world silver medallist on each occasion and collecting a total of five world championship medals. In Europe she was even more dominant. Monteiro became European champion six times and stood on the continental podium fifteen times, a remarkable level of consistency.

She was also a regular winner on the IJF World Tour. Among her most notable victories were Grand Slam titles in Paris in 2012 and 2015 and another in Ekaterinburg in 2018. Later in her career she continued to collect medals, including bronze at the 2019 European Games and the IJF World Masters the same year.

Monteiro carried the Portuguese flag at both the Rio 2016 and Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, underlining her status as one of the country’s most respected athletes. Even in the final phase of her career she remained competitive in the IJF World Tour.

In December 2024 she announced her retirement from competitive judo, closing the chapter on a career defined by longevity, consistency and historic success for Portugal.

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