Paula Pareto

She was the flag bearer for her country at the closing ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

In December 2015, Paula received the Gold Olimpia Award as the best athlete of the year from her country.

In August 2015, Paula won the gold medal at the World Judo Championship in Astana, Kazakhstan, her first world title. At the 2016 Summer Olympics, Paula defeated Jeong Bo-kyeong to capture her first Olympic gold medal.

She studied medicine at the University of Buenos Aires and graduated in March 2014.

During the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing in an interview said that she is single and her mother Mirta commented that it was like "You are engaged to judo".

She won the bronze medal at 2008 Summer Olympics in one of the most dramatic matches of whole tournament. She stood against Pak Ok-song from North Korea. The Korean judoka was active whole match and got a koka in middle of the match for activity. Drama came in last 10 seconds when Pak began a technique but Paula made use of it for her technique, which was a counter to the Korean's move. Problems arose when the jury counted the technique for Pak, perhaps because she began to move first. In the end Pak celebrated the medal and Paula cried but her trainer Carlos Denegri lodged an objection so the jury checked the video. Finally they agreed that it was Pareto who made the technique (Kuchiki-taoshi) and so she took the medal.

Paula Belén Pareto (born 16 January 1986) is an Argentine judoka and physician.