Vanessa Martina Zambotti Barreto (born 4 March 1982, Parral, Chihuahua) is a Mexican judoka.

Early and personal life

Zambotti was born in Parral, Chihuahua. She lives in Mexico City and trains judo in CONADE. She earned a degree in Sports Administration at the Universidad del Valle de México. During 2003 Pan American Games she suffered an injury in the right shoulder. The injury did not look serious and she competed with it until summer of 2005, when the pain became unsufferable. A few weeks before 2005 World Judo Championships in Cairo, she underwent surgery and spent a year recovering.

Judo career

She participated in three Olympic games. Zambotti won the bronze medal of the over 78 kg division of the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games. In the 2004 Olympic Games she won her first match against Tsvetana Bozhilova from Bulgaria, but lost the second match against Barbara Andolina from Italy. The Italian competitor lost her next match, so Zambotti was not involved in the repêchage. In the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing she was a medal hope for Mexico as winner of Pan American Games from the previous year, but in her second match she was drawn against the Olympic champion from Athens, Maki Tsukada. She lost this match and finally took 9th place. At the 2012 Summer Olympics, she was knocked out in the first round, losing to Tong Wen, one of the eventual bronze medalists.

Achievements