His gi still on, Eduardo Lass cares for an injured fighter. Emanuel Siqueira/emanuelsports.com.br
Seeing an injury during a BJJ championship being taken care of by another athlete may sound crazy, but that’s what happened last weekend in Manaus, Amazonas. With caveats.
An orthopedist and BJJ brown-belt, Eduardo Lass was doing his semifinal match in the lightweight division when he saw, in the adjacent area, that an accident had occurred in a no-gi duel. Upon defending against a takedown, the athlete had suffered a knee injury — which was quickly tended to by Eduardo, a specialist in knee treatment.
“I had been hired as part of the event’s medical staff,” Eduardo told Graciemag. “I asked to fight as well, since I occasionally sign up for competitions. As soon as my fight ended, the athlete in the area beside mine had this accident, a knee luxation. The patella left its place completely and I treated it at the scene. I solved the problem, and since everybody was watching from the stands, there was a celebration by the people.”
With 16 years of experience as an orthopedist, the doctor won, as well as the applause from the audience, a gold medal for his performance representing Ribeiro Jiu-Jitsu.
