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Vanessa Fernandes facts for kids

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In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Sousa and the second or paternal family name is Fernandes.
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GOIH, OM
Vanessa Fernandes
2008 Vanessa Fernandes.JPG
Fernandes at the 2008 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Full name Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes
Nationality Portuguese
Born (1985-09-14) 14 September 1985 (age 38)
Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, Portugal
Residence Jamor, Oeiras, Portugal
Height 169 cm (5 ft 7 in)
Weight 55 kg (121 lb)
Sport
Country Portugal
Sport Triathlon
Club Benfica
Medal record
Women's triathlon
Representing  Portugal
Olympic Games
Silver 2008 Beijing Women's race
ITU World Championships
Gold 2007 Hamburg Elite women's race
Silver 2006 Lausanne Elite women's race
Bronze 2003 Queenstown Junior women's race
ITU Triathlon World Cup
Gold 2006 Overall World Cup
Gold 2007 Overall World Cup
European Championships
Gold 2003 Carlsbad Junior women's race
Gold 2004 Tiszaújváros U-23 women's race
Gold 2004 Valencia Elite women's race
Gold 2005 Sofia U-23 women's race
Gold 2005 Lausanne Elite women's race
Gold 2006 Rijeka U-23 women's race
Gold 2006 Autun Elite women's race
Gold 2007 Copenhagen Elite women's race
Gold 2008 Lisbon Elite women's race
Gold 2008 Pulpi U-23 women's race
Bronze 2002 Győr Junior women's race
Women's duathlon
ITU Duathlon World Championships
Gold 2007 Győr Elite women's race
Gold 2008 Rimini Elite women's race
ETU Duathlon European Championships
Gold 2006 Rimini Elite women's race
Bronze 2002 Zeitz Junior women's race
Vanessafernandes
Fernandes finishing second in Lausanne 2006
2008 Olympic triathlon women - medal ceremony
Fernandes (left), silver medalist at the 2008 Summer Olympics

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. In duathlon, she was also European and world champion.

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. 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.

Achievements

2001

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

2002

  • World Cup:
    • 34th (Tiszaújváros, Hungary)
    • 29th (Nice, France)
    • 12th (Funchal, Portugal)
  • 4th – World Championships (Cancún, Mexico) – junior
  • 3rd – European Championships (Győr, Hungary) – junior
  • 3rd – European Duathlon Championships (Zeitz, Germany) – junior

2003

  • World Cup:
  • 1st – Estoril International Triathlon (Estoril, Portugal)
  • 2nd – Praia da Vitória International Triathlon (Praia da Vitória, Portugal)
  • 5th – World Summer Games (Santos, Brazil)
  • European Championships (Carlsbad, Czech Republic):
    • 1st – junior
    • 2nd – junior (team)
  • 3rd – World Championships (Queenstown, New Zealand) – junior
  • 1st – World Duathlon Championships (Affoltern, Switzerland) – junior

2004

  • 1st – Portugal National Championships
  • World Cup:
  • 5th – World Championships (Funchal, Portugal)
  • 8th – Olympic Games (Athens, Greece)
  • 1st – European Under-23 Championships (Tiszaújváros, Hungary)
  • 1st – European Championships (Valencia, Spain)

2005

2006

  • World Cup:
  • 3rd – Portugal Cross-Country Championships (Guimarães)
  • 1st – Portugal Triathlon Cup (Quarteira)
  • 1st – European Cup (Estoril, Portugal)
  • 1st – European Championships (Autun, France)
  • 1st – European Under-23 Championships (Rijeka, Croatia)
  • 5th – Life Time Fitness Triathlon (Minneapolis, United States)
  • 2nd – World Championships (Lausanne, Switzerland)
  • 1st – European Duathlon Championships (Rimini, Italy)
  • 6th – Corrida do Tejo (Lisbon, Portugal)

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

  • PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR.png Grand Officer of the Order of Prince Henry
  • POR Ordem do Merito Comendador BAR.svg Commander of the Order of Merit
  • POR Ordem do Merito Oficial BAR.svg Officer of the Order of Merit

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: Vanessa Fernandes para niños

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