Vanessa Fernandes

Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes GOIH ComM OM (Portuguese pronunciation: [vɐˈnɛsɐ fɨɾˈnɐ̃dɨʃ]; born 14 September 1985) is a Portuguese athlete who is a former triathlon European and world champion, and an Olympic medalist.[1] In duathlon, she was also European and world champion.

This name uses Portuguese naming customs: the first or maternal family name is Sousa and the second or paternal family name is Fernandes.
GOIH, OM
Vanessa Fernandes
Fernandes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full nameVanessa de Sousa Fernandes
NationalityPortuguese
Born (1985-09-14) 14 September 1985
Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Height169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
CountryPortugal
SportTriathlon
ClubBenfica
Medal record
Women's triathlon
Representing  Portugal
Olympic Games
2008 Beijing Women's race
ITU World Championships
2007 Hamburg Elite women's race
2006 Lausanne Elite women's race
2003 Queenstown Junior women's race
ITU Triathlon World Cup
2006 Overall World Cup
2007 Overall World Cup
European Championships
2003 Carlsbad Junior women's race
2004 Tiszaújváros U-23 women's race
2004 Valencia Elite women's race
2005 Sofia U-23 women's race
2005 Lausanne Elite women's race
2006 Rijeka U-23 women's race
2006 Autun Elite women's race
2007 Copenhagen Elite women's race
2008 Lisbon Elite women's race
2008 Pulpi U-23 women's race
2002 Gyor Junior women's race
Women's duathlon
ITU Duathlon World Championships
2007 Gyor Elite women's race
2008 Rimini Elite women's race
ETU Duathlon European Championships
2006 Rimini Elite women's race
2002 Zeitz Junior women's race
Fernandes finishing second in Lausanne 2006
Fernandes (left), silver medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics

Fernandes won the European Triathlon Championships five consecutive years (5 elite and 3 under-23 titles), beginning in 2004, and on 1 September 2007, she became world champion for the first time, in Hamburg, Germany, managing to grab the only title (apart from the Olympic sceptre) missing from her career. She competes for S.L. Benfica since 2005.

Career

Born in Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Fernandes was introduced to triathlon in 1999, when she was fourteen, by her father, Venceslau Fernandes, a former professional cyclist and winner of the 1984 Volta a Portugal. She competed for her local triathlon club Clube de Perosinho and then for Belenenses where she became world champion of under-23. Later in 2005, Fernandes joined S.L. Benfica and represents the club to this day. Occasionally, she enters cross country events. She competed at the Olympic Games for the first time in 2004. On the second Olympic triathlon competition, at age eighteen, she finished in eighth place with a total time of 2:06:15.39.

In June 2006, Fernandes won the International Triathlon Union World Cup, ranking number one in the world.[2] In September, she equaled Australian Emma Carney's record number of consecutive wins in the World Cup, with a twelfth victory at the Beijing leg. Later that year, she was awarded with the "Best Female Athlete of the Year" prize from CNID (Clube Nacional de Imprensa Desportiva; English: Sports Press National Club) at its annual sports gala. In 2008, she won her 5th-in-a-row Elite European Championships title, at "home", in Lisbon, Portugal.

In August 2008, she finished second in the Beijing Olympic Games, winning her first olympic medal.

After years without competing, Fernandes is training with the 2016 Summer Olympics in mind.[3]

Achievements

2001

  • 18th – European Championships (Carlsbad, Czech Republic) – junior
  • 2nd – European Duathlon Championships (Mafra, Portugal) – junior (team)

2002

  • World Cup:
  • 4th – World Championships (Cancún, Mexico) – junior
  • 3rd – European Championships (Győr, Hungary) – junior
  • 3rd – European Duathlon Championships (Zeitz, Germany) – junior

2003

2004

2005

2006

2007

  • World Cup:
  • 1st – World Duathlon Championships (Győr, Hungary)
  • 1st – European Championships (Copenhagen, Denmark)
  • 1st - World Championships (Hamburg, Germany)
  • 1st – Life Time Fitness Triathlon (Minneapolis, United States)

2008

Orders

References
  1. Vanessa Fernandes. sports-reference.com
  2. 2006 BG Triathlon World Cup rankings.
  3. "Vanessa Fernandes: "Quero voltar a ir aos Jogos Olímpicos"" [Vanessa Fernandes: "I want to return to the Olympic Games"] (in Portuguese). S.L. Benfica. 29 October 2014. Retrieved 13 March 2015.
  4. "Ordens Honoríficas Portuguesas" [Portuguese Honorary Orders] (in Portuguese). Presidency of the Portuguese Republic. Retrieved 10 March 2015.
  5. Atletas condecorados com Ordem do Mérito (in Portuguese)
Awards
Preceded by
Diana Gomes		 Portuguese Sportswoman of the Year
2006 – 2008		 Succeeded by
Michelle Larcher de Brito
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