He chose the latter. And it paid off big time yesterday when he beat Peru's Peter Lopez to win taekwondo's 68-kilogram (150-pound) men's title and grab the host nation's first gold medal at the Rio Pan American Games.

"I bet I'll be able to get my mom a car a lot easier now," he said today.

Silva made the front pages of nearly all Brazilian newspapers, and said some sponsors had already been lined up.

He had been saving money to buy the car for his mother, Telma, so she didn't have to work her manicure job using public transportation. Then an opportunity to compete in Europe came up and he had to make a decision.

"I chose to go to Europe because I knew it would help me get good results in the future," he said. "And here I am, with the gold medal on my chest."

He said he had already saved about $2,700 to buy the car for his mom before having to use it in the trip to Europe.

Silva makes only $321 a month from the Brazilian Taekwondo Confederation, "and that's when they don't delay payment."

Silva couldn't hold back tears at the podium yesterday as a vibrant crowd loudly sang the national anthem.

"I remembered all the times I saw other athletes in that position and how much I wanted it to be me some time," he said.

During his victory lap, with the Brazilian flag on his back, Silva yelled "It's ours, it's ours," to the delighted crowd.

Silva said he has to give much thanks to his mom, who kept him out of the streets in the interior city of Campinas, about 60 miles from Sao Paulo.

"Where I come from, we look up to those who hold guns in their hands," he said. "But when I was a child, my mom made me go to taekwondo practice."

The 25-year-old Brazilian was a semifinalist in the Athens Olympics in 2004, and a bronze medalist in the 2003 Pan Ams in the Dominican Republic. A physical education student, Silva was the first Brazilian to win a gold medal on the European circuit, in 2006.

In Athens, Silva entered his final fight wearing a "Black Panthers" glove, saying it was a protest about the lack of support for taekwondo in Brazil. The competition's official at the time did not allow him to fight with the glove.

Silva said he didn't get much sleep after his victory yesterday because "there were so many media requests for interviews." He added he was hoping to go home soon so he could "see his mother for the first time in six months."