--- title: Rio Olympics 2016: Rafaela Silva Kathleen Baker Wins description: Some of the greatest victories of the Olympics so far have come with powerful backstories. canonical: https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/ author: TIME article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2016-08-09T20:15:27.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-04-13T09:03:06.574Z og:title: These Olympians Defied Doubters og:description: No force could hold these incredible women back og:url: https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef0472aafdb7db74/6988a1bfcf40a82b46c44679/rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3000 og:image:height: 1688 og:image:alt: rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: These Olympians Defied Doubters twitter:description: No force could hold these incredible women back twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef0472aafdb7db74/6988a1bfcf40a82b46c44679/rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # These Olympians Defied Doubters > Sponsored content. 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Worth Your Time is TIME's culture recommendation newsletter, edited by culture editor Eliza Berman. Each week it surfaces the books, shows, films and ideas TIME's editors think are worth your attention, and explains why. It is free at time.com/newsletters. #### Does TIME have a culture newsletter? Yes. Worth Your Time is TIME's culture newsletter, published weekly. #### Who writes TIME's culture recommendations? Culture editor Eliza Berman writes Worth Your Time, drawing on TIME's critics and culture desk. #### Is Worth Your Time free? Yes. It is a free newsletter available at time.com/newsletters. ### Sources * TIME Newsletters: [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-worth-2026q3/newsletters?i=31f300ce-c234-41f9-a6d3-2ba52b3cb6b8&cr=time-nl-worth-2026q3-v1) by [Jessie Van Amburg](https://time.com/author/jessie-van-amburg/) ## Jessie Van Amburg Aug 9, 2016 8:15 PM UTC  rafaela silva kathleen baker rio olympics 2016 rafaela silva kathleen baker rio olympics 2016 Al Bello/Getty Images;David Ramos/Getty Images by [Jessie Van Amburg](https://time.com/author/jessie-van-amburg/) ## Jessie Van Amburg Aug 9, 2016 8:15 PM UTC The [Olympic games](http://time.com/money/4426714/watch-olympics-rio-games-2016-online/) have only been underway for a few days and already the female athletes are killing it, with incredible victories in gymnastics, swimming and rugby. But two of the most incredible wins come with powerful backstories of triumph over adversity. Brazilian athlete [Rafaela Silva](http://mashable.com/2016/08/08/rafaela-silva-brazil-gold-medal/?utm%5Fcid=mash-com-fb-main-link#fx5ldVVMdZqb) took home gold in judo, making it the hosting country’s first gold medal. Silva was previously disqualified in the London games in 2012 because of an illegal hold. The athlete apparently received [racist messages](http://bigstory.ap.org/article/8d1889ae6fe94e929995b9a054818539/olympics-will-showcase-brazils-diversity-and-tensions) in response to the disqualification, with sports fans referring to her as a “monkey.” The athlete, who overcame a childhood in the [slums of Rio de Janiero](https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/early-lead/wp/2016/08/08/brazilian-rafaela-silva-almost-quit-judo-because-of-racism-now-shes-an-olympic-gold-medalist/), was haunted by the loss and subsequent backlash. Her sister Raquel told the [New York _Times_](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/01/08/sports/olympics/rafaela-silva-brazil-judo-rio-games.html?%5Fr=0) that Rafaela became depressed. Her coach was worried that she would quit the sport. But she ultimately resumed her training. Now she has a gold medal—and adoring fans—to show for her perseverance. And swimmer [Kathleen Baker](http://www.people.com/people/package/article/0,,20996464%5F21023334,00.html) faces some serious obstacles with her health. The Team USA athlete suffers from [Crohn’s disease](http://motto.time.com/4355698/crohns-disease-photo-set/), a chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal system that manifests in Baker as [extreme fatigue, nausea and stomach cramps](http://www.nytimes.com/2016/07/15/sports/olympics/kathleen-baker-crohns-disease-swimming-olympics.html). Some with the disease have to have a portion of their intestines removed. On Monday, she took home the silver medal in the 100 m backstroke. She finished second to Hungary’s [Katinka Hosszu](http://motto.time.com/4442999/rio-olympics-katie-ledecky-katinka-hosszu/). “I think it really helps me appreciate the sport even more, knowing that it can be taken away from me,” Baker told the [_Charlotte Observer_](http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/olympics/article94503017.html). She will be competing again in the medley relay for a chance at another medal. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/"},"headline":"These Olympians Defied Doubters","datePublished":"2016-08-09T20:15:27.000Z","dateModified":"2026-04-13T09:03:06.574Z","description":"No force could hold these incredible women back","url":"https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/","keywords":["motto","Summer Olympics","2016 Rio de Janeiro Olympics"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef0472aafdb7db74/6988a1bfcf40a82b46c44679/rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Jessie Van Amburg","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/jessie-van-amburg/"}],"articleSection":"","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltef0472aafdb7db74/6988a1bfcf40a82b46c44679/rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"rafaela-silva-kathleen-baker-rio-olympics","caption":"rafaela silva kathleen baker rio olympics 2016","creditText":"Al Bello/Getty Images;David Ramos/Getty Images","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/tag/motto/","name":"motto"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4445185/rio-olympics-2016-kathleen-baker-rafaela-silva/","name":"These Olympians Defied Doubters"}}]}] ```