Facebook's Zuckerberg wins gold in jiu-jitsu tournament

Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg took part in his first jiu-jitsu martial arts tournament on Saturday and went home with silver and gold medals, he posted on social media.

The competition was held at Woodside High School in California near the Silicon Valley headquarters of Meta, Zuckerberg's company that owns Facebook, Instagram and WhatsApp.

"Competed in my first jiu-jitsu tournament and won some medals for the Guerrilla Jiu-Jitsu team," Zuckerberg wrote on Facebook and Instagram.

The 38-year-old tech billionaire told an interviewer last year that he began studying martial arts during the coronavirus pandemic.

He told podcaster Joe Rogan that the sport's "primal" nature helped him boost his energy level and tackle challenges at work.

Zuckerberg trains with coach Dave Camarillo, who has taught several UFC mixed martial arts (MMA) champions.

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Unlike MMA, Brazilian-style jiu-jitsu emphasizes fighting opponents through holds and control instead of kicks or striking.

Another coach, Khai "The Shadow" Wu, congratulated the tycoon.

"Yesterday getting to see Zuck compete was pretty epic. No match was easy and everything was earned. It was an honor to be able to help coach and offer any advice I could," Wu posted on Instagram.

According to a video posted on social media, at one point during the tournament Zuckerberg appeared to angrily contest a ref's call after losing a fight with a competitor.

The video sequence ends with Zuckerberg hugging his opponent.

Source: AFP