Claudio Zupo

Claudio Zupo Gutiérrez (22 September 1984 – 24 July 2020) was a Mexican judoka. He was known as El gigante de Sonora ("the giant from Sonora").

Claudio Zupo

Personal information
Birth name	Claudio Zupo Gutiérrez
Born	(1984-09-22)September 22, 1984 Hermosillo, Sonora, Mexico[1]
Died	24 July 2020(2020-07-24) (aged 35) Sonora, Mexico
Sport
Sport	Judo
Event	Openweight
Medal record Men's judo Representing  Mexico Pan American Championships 2006 Buenos Aires Openweight Representing  Mexico Central American and Caribbean Games 2006 Cartagena de Indias Teams

Career

Zupo participated in the 2005 and 2006 Pan American Championships; he won a bronze medal at the 2006 Pan American Judo Championships in the openweight category, and a silver medal at the 2006 Central American and Caribbean Games in the team category.^[2][3] He also won a Golden Medal at the 2006 Mexico City International Tournament, two silver medals at the 2008 and 2010 Mexican Championships, and one Golden Medal in the junior category at the 2002 National Olimpiade in San Luis Potosí.^[4]

After his withdrawal from the tatami, he served as trainer in the Sonora State Sports Commission (Codeson), and later as coordinator of the high-performance gym in Hermosillo, Sonora.^[2]

Death

Zupo died in his native Sonora on 24 July 2020, aged 35, from COVID-19, during the pandemic in Mexico. On the previous day, his mother had also died from the same illness. His family claimed that he had been fired from the Codeson when he tested positive for COVID-19.^[1][2][5][6]