Yvone Duarte's place in BJJ history was cemented in October 1990, when Osvaldo Alves promoted her to black belt — making her the first woman in the history of Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu to achieve that rank. The promotion stood as the culmination of over a decade of dedicated training and marked a watershed moment for women in the sport worldwide.
Building the Foundation for Women's Competition
Duarte's pioneering work had begun years earlier. In 1985, she was a central driving force behind the establishment of a female division in Jiu-Jitsu competition — a structural change that fundamentally opened the sport to women at the competitive level. That same year, she organized the first-ever Jiu-Jitsu event to include female participation, sponsored by Brazilian swimwear brand Bum Bum Ipanema, giving women's BJJ its first organized competitive platform.
Championship Results
Duarte backed her organizational efforts with elite competitive results. She claimed the Rio de Janeiro State Championship in 1985, 1986, and 1987, winning both the weight and absolute divisions in each of those years while competing in the Peso Pena (52kg) category. After her black belt promotion, she continued competing at the national level, winning the Brazilian National Championship in both the weight and absolute divisions in 1991 and 1992, and again in the absolute division in 1996.