Thamires Aquino Reflects On 1st World Title After 7 Attempts
Thamires Aquino Reflects On 1st World Title After 7 Attempts
The GFTeam black belt reflects on her motivations and struggles after years of coming up short, and the feeling of winning an IBJJF world title.
Thamires Aquino was 22 years old when she first stood on the World Championship podium. She took third place in her rookie year, then despite repeated attempts, did not place again till 2022 when she successively placed third, then second the following year.
She finally captured gold in 2024. It took her seven attempts to win the IBJJF World Championship title.
After winning, she was adamant that training camps in Brazil felt more complete than the ones she has had more recently undergone in Arkansas, where Thamires, a mother, manages running a gym with her husband Italo Lins. Her husband plays a crucial role in her ability to focus on training leading up to worlds by teaching most of the classes. On managing the role of mother alongside that of an athlete Thamires shared that she grapples with tremendous guilt because everything in her athlete routine involves being selfish.
“Everything is about me - my food, training, rest time - every single day," she said. "Sometimes I feel like I’m being a bad mom because I’m not giving my daughter the attention she deserves.”
Mindset was a large factor in her training camp for Worlds, with Thamires working regularly with her sports psychologist. She shared that even though she experienced hardships in her personal life at the start of the year and initially had doubts that she could ever win a World Championship, she continued working towards that goal until her mindset improved.
Italo shared his thoughts on his wife’s preparation, saying, “most people would have quit for much less. She’s resilient, dedicated, disciplined and did everything she could in all areas possible.”
After coming so close to winning last year and losing to Jessa Khan, Thamires admitted that she did not feel motivated to keep going after she had been trying for a world title for so many years. Despite the absence of motivation, she kept disciplined and the work earned her the coveted world title this year.
A notable match for Thamires at Worlds was her semifinal against her friend Emily Rosalynn Nicholson who helped her prepare for Worlds 2023. Thamires shared that Emily (who notably beat Brenda Larissa to move into the semifinals) had been one of her best training partners and that they shared a long history.
“Having to fight her was hard," she said. "I had to remind myself that while she’s a friend, this is a world title that I’ve been trying to win for so many years, so I will do my best to get it even if I have to fight a friend, because I don’t want to keep competing at worlds for too many more years.”
Thamires intends to keep the momentum going to win another world title. However, she admitted that the other reason she threw so much of herself into winning this worlds is because she doesn’t want to keep competing for many more years. She said that living the athlete life has taken a lot of focus away from other aspects; and in time she hopes to have another baby. Until then, she plans to work even harder to improve and win as many big tournaments as possible. She will be turning thirty this year and wants to be an inspiration to other women that it is possible to be a mother and a wife, to run a business, and handle all the things that adult life brings alongside doing your absolute best on the mats.
Watch BJJ On FloGrappling
FloGrappling is the streaming home to the best Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu events and news coverage. FloGrappling is the streaming home of:
Don't Miss ADCC World Championships On FloGrappling
In August 2024, FloGrappling is streaming the ADCC World Championships. The bi-annual tournament returns to Las Vegas.
Join The BJJ Conversation By Following FloGrappling On Social
- Follow us on Twitter @flograppling.
- Follow us on Instagram @flograppling.
- Watch us on YouTube.
- Like us on Facebook.