Oak Harbor’s Marti Malloy added another prestigious medal to her collection Wednesday, Aug. 28, by placing second at the World Judo Championships in Rio de Janeiro.

Last summer Malloy collected a bronze at the London Olympics.

Malloy posted a 5-1 record at the World Championships, earning a silver medal after losing to the host country’s Rafaela Silva, the world’s fourth-ranked athlete, at 57 kilograms.

With the second place finish, Malloy is now one of only 28 Americans to medal at the World Championships, which is considered second only to the Olympics in importance and international ranking points.

Only four Americans have won gold at the Worlds; one is Malloy’s coach Mike Swain. Malloy is one of eight to earn a silver.

Earlier this year Malloy won gold at the Grand Prix Miami, also an elite international tournament.

Malloy, ranked 11th in the world, started the World Championship by defeating Anriquelis Barrios of Venezuela and Jovana Rogic of Serbia.

Next she defeated eighth-ranked Ketleyn Quadros, topping the Brazilian before a partisan crowd.

Then came a win over the world’s No. 3-ranked fighter when she threw Miryam Roper of Germany. She followed that with a win over Slovenia’s Viora Bedeti in the semifinals.

In an email response, Malloy said, “I feel like my effort at this tournament was definitely tested. There are no easy fights at this level, so to win five straight fights and make it into a world championship final is a dream partially realized.

“I wasn’t surprised by my placing. I knew I was capable of going all the way if I fought hard enough and refused to give up. I was tested in many ways yesterday while fighting and wanted the gold medal very badly, but it wasn’t to be. But I am more optimistic than ever before that I can accomplish all I aspire for in judo.”

The second-place finish might vault her ranking to the top five, she said.