From a Rio favela to Olympic gold

Rio de Janeiro

MOMENTS after winning Brazil's first gold medal of the Olympics, Rafaela Silva broke down, wiping away her tears with a bandaged hand, and told her celebrating nation that if it was not for judo, "I could still be playing in City of God."

Eight km away, in the "City of God" neighbourhood, a 44-year-old doorman named Claudio "Piri" Roberto joined a crowd watching the ceremony on a small television on the sidewalk. A national hero was a rare thing in the slum, made famous by a 2002 hit movie that depicted its drug traffickers, poverty and gun violence.