Rio 2016: Rafaela Silva answers City of God’s prayers

In Rio’s violent, poverty stricken City of God slum, family and friends of Brazilian judo hero Rafaela Silva say her gold medal is a win for them all.

A small crowd of people gathered in the doorway of her simple house, which has an unpainted concrete facade on the ground floor. Whether taking turns to read Tuesday’s newspapers or just chat, there was only one subject.

“She won this medal for us. She has always won her battles and she really deserved this win,” said neighbour Marco Vinicius, 23.

Silva, 24, is a stunning success story for the huge favela that leapt from anonymity to worldwide notoriety with the hit 2002 film “City of God.” She grew up learning to survive life in the crossfire between heavily armed gangsters and Rio's notoriously brutal police.

Racial abuse Then when her career threatened to go off the rails in the wake of a shock disqualification at the London 2012 Games, she overcame depression and virulent racial abuse from fellow Brazilians.

Now she is the world's best female under-57kg judoka with her win on Monday. She is the City of God's champion.

Vinicius said she’d put her haters in their place.

“This medal was a double honor,” he said. “Today the so-called ‘shame of the family’ has shown that she is a person who can show the example and make us all proud and want to follow her lead.”

Silva’s father, Luiz Carlos do Rosario Silva, stood in the street, trying to take it all in. “It’s quite something, isn’t it In 2012 they were abusing her as a ‘monkey.’ Then in 2013 she became the first ever Brazilian world champion. Four years later she has the Olympic medal, the champion’s medal,” said Silva, 53, who wore a Brazil team shirt and a baseball cap inscribed with his daughter’s name.