Gonzalez, Driulis

This person has a spanish surname; here Gonzalez is the surname of the father, and Morales is the surname of the mother.

Driulis Gonzalez Morales ( Spanish: Driulis González Morales , born September 21, 1973 in Guantanamo , Cuba ) is a Cuban judoist , Olympic champion and three-time world champion. By the number of Olympic medals (4) Gonzalez is inferior in the history of judo only to the famous Ryouko Tani (5). One of the five Cubans (1 man and 4 women) who won the judo competition at the Olympics .

Driulis Gonzalez performed at 5 consecutive Olympiads (1992, 1996, 2000, 2004 and 2008). Only at the last 2008 Olympics in Beijing, the Cuban was left without awards and was unable to repeat the achievement of Ryouko Tani. In the semifinals of the Beijing Games, Gonzalez lost to the future Olympic champion Japanese woman Ayumi Tanimoto , and then lost to the Dutchwoman Elizabeth Villebordse in the fight for bronze.

At the beginning of her career, Gonzalez performed in the weight category up to 56-57 kg, and after the birth of her son in 2001 (because of which she missed the 2001 World Championships in Munich ), she moved into the category up to 63 kg.

In 2007, Gonzalez carried the flag of Cuba at the opening of the Pan-American Games in Rio de Janeiro . There she is the third time in her career became the winner of these competitions.

In 1996, Gonzalez was recognized as the best athlete of the year in Cuba.