A construção midiática do herói: a representação de Rafaela Silva na Folha de São Paulo nos Jogos Olímpicos/Rio 2016

This study aimed to analyze the coverage of the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo about the judoka Rafaela Silva during the Rio / 2016 Olympic Games. This research is qualitative/descriptive, having as corpus all editions of the newspaper Folha de Sao Paulo from July 28 to August 27, 2016. The results were divided into three temporal categories: Pre-event, Dispute, Post-Dispute. The analysis was carried out by means of triangulation by sources, theoretical and reflective. It is possible to state that Rafaela Silva was neglected by the coverage of Folha de Sao Paulo, until she was consecrated with the victory. From that moment on, the newspaper uses her image as a symbol of hope, especially for overcoming all the challenges that the athlete has overcome. Thus, her history is explored and it is brought by the newspaper to the society, so people can identify themselves with the athlete.