ADGS Rio: Sarah Galvão is ready to face the Jiu-Jitsu elite

June 30, 2024

It's been an entire decade of breathtaking action here at AJP, first only in the UAE mats and then across the whole world with the traveling show that is the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam World Tour. Over the course of those ten years, powerful athletes have etched their names in both the organization's and Jiu-Jitsu's history. André and Angélica Galvão are among those stars, and their daughter Sarah Galvão is ready to follow in their footsteps and face the greatest challenges of the competitive scene.

But every long journey starts with a single step. Former ADWPJJC champions among the sport's elite, André and Angélica have sown the seeds of competition in Sarah from an early age and now, as a fully-fledged brown belt, she'll stand among the higher echelons of the Jiu-Jitsu in the Abu Dhabi Grand Slam Rio de Janeiro 2024, which takes place between July 19th and 21st in Brazil.

An American born to Brazilian parents, Sarah has had her career plan directly linked to AJP, aiming to win in lower categories to advance at the competitive level, effectively accelerating her evolution as an athlete. She has accrued many titles as a blue and purple belt and now returns to the organization as a 17-year-old brown belt, hungry to fight in the unforgiving brackets of the AJP's brown/black categories.

Ahead of the competition, Sarah Galvão opened up about her expectations for the ADGS Rio while also talking about her history with Jiu-Jitsu, the impact of growing with high-level athletes for parents, and how she gains her confidence from the strong people around her. Check it out below!

Let's start with a quick look at your background: Being the daughter of Angélica and André Galvão, it's tough to imagine Sarah Galvão being anything other than an athlete, but was that always your dream, or did growing up at Atos help shape that goal for you?

SARAH GALVÃO: I think I was always bound to do Jiu-Jitsu, I couldn’t really run away from it. I started training when I was four and stopped when I was eight to do other sports such as gymnastics and dance, but I always found myself coming back. Growing up with two very high-level athletes, I was always surrounded by the Jiu-Jitsu community, no matter how hard I tried to run away from it. By the time I was 12, I decided to give Jiu-Jitsu another shot, started training again, and here I am now.

And you've done a great job of carrying on the Galvão family legacy, coming out on top of almost all tournaments you participated in. Despite having made a name for yourself with all those titles, do you feel any kind of pressure when it comes to competing?

I get this question a lot, and I can proudly say that I’ve never felt pressured whatsoever. I know it may seem a little far-fetched, but it's true. My parents give me an advantage, especially since they went through the same stuff that I have and probably will. I can always trust them and their preparation for tournaments like these, and that makes me all the more confident. But regardless of who they are, they've always been very supportive, no matter what I did. Athletes or not, they want what's best for me.

The Atos mats have no shortage of powerhouses for you to train with. Besides André and Angélica, are there any other practitioners that inspire or influence you and your Jiu-Jitsu?

Andy Murasaki has always been a big inspiration for me. He's one of those guys that just knows how to train with women and every time I do is a learning experience. Just watching him train or fight inspires me, and I can say that about 20 to 30% of my moves have been copied from him.

Joining the AJP's brown/black division, you'll compete among black belts for the first time in your career. Even more, you'll be facing the extremely tricky ADGS Rio, which is known for attracting some of the strongest athletes in the world. Even with all your tournament mileage, are you feeling nervous or is it just business as usual?

My dad always said that fighters fight and that is exactly what I will be doing. Of course, I do feel nervous, but in a good way. The girls in my bracket are pretty strong, but the only big difference I see is the age gap. Most of them have been black belts for over three years, so they definitely have more experience than I do, but I don't think that'll change my chances of winning. I knew it was gonna be challenging going into this, and that's exactly what I'm looking for. I'll fight until the very end and give my all until the last second.