Top black belt competitor Elisabeth Clay earned double gold at the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Pans just two months after giving birth to her first child.
Mom strength is a real thing.
The 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Pans took place over the weekend in Fort Worth, Texas, and arguably the event’s most notable performance came from newly minted mother Elisabeth Clay.
On August 19, Clay and her husband, fellow black belt competitor Danilo Moreira, welcomed their first child, Danilo Jr., into the world. According to an Instagram post from Clay, she endured a 12-hour labor before giving birth to the healthy new boy.
At just 24 years old, Clay is already a multiple-time no-gi world champion and is widely recognized as one of the top pound-for-pound no-gi grapplers on the planet. With that in mind, many fans expected her to return to competition following her pregnancy, but few likely predicted her to return so quickly – much less find immediate success at an IBJJF major.
The Ares BJJ representative employed her trademark leg lock game to rack up four submissions in five matches, winning gold in both the heavyweight and absolute divisions.
In the heavyweight division, she scored a lightning-fast submission over Graciele Carvalho in the opening round before earning a points victory over Maria Ruffatto in the division’s final. Clay found similar success in the absolute division, scoring submission wins over Mayara Ribeiro, 2023 No-Gi Pans champion Deise Leonanjo, and Ruffatto in the final.
Clay’s double-gold performance is impressive on its own, but the fact that it came less than three months after giving birth makes the accomplishment even more extraordinary. Before her leave of absence from competition due to pregnancy, she had racked up notable victories over the likes of Brianna Ste-Marie, Ffion Davies, and Amy Campo. Considering her success at the No-Gi Pans, Clay looks to be already in top form and ready to compete alongside the world’s best grapplers.
Stay tuned to GrapplingInsider.com for more news and updates from the 2024 IBJJF No-Gi Pans.
