Winifer Fernández facts for kids
Quick facts for kids Winifer Fernández |
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| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Full name | Winifer María Fernández Pérez | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Nationality | Dominican | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Born | 6 January 1995 Santiago de los Caballeros, Santiago Province, Dominican Republic |
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| Hometown | Cienfuegos, Santiago de los Caballeros | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Height | 1.69 m (5 ft 7 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Weight | 62 kg (137 lb) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Spike | 270 cm (106 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Block | 265 cm (104 in) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Volleyball information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Libero | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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Honours
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| Last updated: September 2017 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Winifer María Fernández Pérez, born on January 6, 1995, is a talented Dominican volleyball player. She is known for her amazing skills as a libero, a defensive player in volleyball. Winifer played for the club Mirador and competed in the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship in 2015. She became very popular in July 2016 when videos and photos of her playing went viral online.
Winifer has won many awards throughout her career. In 2010, she was named Best Libero, Digger, and Receiver at the NORCECA U18 continental championship. She won these awards again in 2012 at the NORCECA U20 Championship, where she also earned a gold medal and the Most Valuable Player award. She also helped her team win gold at the 2012 U23 Pan-American Cup. Soon after, she joined the senior national team for the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix. With her senior team, she won gold medals at the World Grand Prix Group 2 in 2016, the 2016 Pan-American Cup, and the 2017 Bolivarian Games.
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About Winifer Fernández
Winifer was born in Santiago, Dominican Republic, on January 6, 1995. She is 169 centimeters (about 5 feet 6 inches) tall and weighs 62 kilograms (about 136 pounds). She started playing volleyball when she was just ten years old. Her first coach was Miguel Durán. In 2009, she moved to Santo Domingo to join the junior national team. Winifer is known for being quick, fast, and smart on the court.
Winifer's Volleyball Journey
Starting Her Career (2008-2010)
Winifer began her professional career in 2008. She won a bronze medal with the Santiago club in the 2008 Dominican Republic Volleyball League. In 2009, she helped her club, Cienfuegos, win the Santiago province championship and was named Best Libero.
In 2010, at just 15 years old, she received awards for Best Digger, Best Receiver, and Best Libero at the NORCECA Youth Championship. Her team finished in fourth place.
Growing as a Player (2011-2014)
In 2011, Winifer won a bronze medal and the Best Libero award at the Girls' Youth Pan-American Cup. She also helped her club, Cienfuegos, win the provincial tournament gold medal in 2011, earning Best Digger, Best Receiver, and Best Libero awards.
In 2012, Winifer helped Santiago win the Northern Region Cup gold medal in her home country. She was a top scorer in that game with 15 points. She joined the senior national team for the 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix. Her team finished in 12th place.
At the 2012 Junior NORCECA Championship, she led her under-20 national team to a gold medal. This win qualified them for the 2013 Junior World Championship. She also won the Most Valuable Player, Best Digger, Best Receiver, and Best Libero awards. She was very happy to help the Dominican Republic win its first gold medal in that category. Later, she helped her national team win gold at the 2012 U23 Pan-American Cup.
In 2013, she started the year by winning the "Most Valuable Player" award and a gold medal at the Baja California International Cup in Mexico. She was also named 2012 Volleyball Player of the Year by the Santo Domingo Guild of Sports Writers. She won a silver medal with her junior team at the 2013 Pan-American Cup in Cuba, where she also won Best Digger and Best Libero awards. She competed in the FIVB U20 World Championship in June, where her junior team ranked eighth. She also played in the 2013 FIVB World Grand Prix, with her team finishing in 10th place.
In early 2014, Winifer was chosen as Volleyball Player of the Year by the Santiago Province Guild of Sports Writers. She also played for the Azerbaijani club Telekom Baku. She was selected to play in the 2014 FIVB World Grand Prix, where her team finished last in Group 1.
Big Competitions (2015)
In 2015, Winifer was again named Volleyball Player of the Year by the Santiago Province Guild of Sports Writers. She played with the Dominican club Mirador in the 2015 FIVB Volleyball Women's Club World Championship. Her team tied for fifth place.
She played in the 2015 Montreux Volley Masters, where her national team lost the fifth-place match to Germany. She then played in the NORCECA Champions Cup, winning a gold medal and qualifying for the 2015 FIVB World Cup. At the Pan-American Cup in Peru, she won a silver medal when her team lost to the United States. She also played in the 2015 FIVB World Grand Prix, where her national team ranked 12th.
Winifer won a bronze medal with her U23 team at the U23 World Championship in Turkey. Her national team also won a silver medal at the NORCECA Championship, losing to the United States. She played with the local club Cienfuegos, winning the XLI Intermunicipal Volleyball tournament in Santiago and the Best Libero award.
Viral Fame and More Wins (2016)
In 2016, Winifer's national team won gold in the World Grand Prix Group 2. They also won gold at the Pan-American Cup held in the Dominican Republic. Her team won all five pool play matches, defeated Cuba in the semifinals, and Puerto Rico in the finals to secure the gold medal. This win also qualified them for the 2017 FIVB World Grand Prix.
In July 2016, a YouTube video showing Winifer playing volleyball became very popular online. Some people mistakenly thought she was an Olympic player, but her national team did not qualify for the 2016 Summer Olympics. After the video became famous, some fake social media accounts started sharing false photos of her. Her National Federation spoke out against these fake accounts. Winifer said she didn't like the video, which used scenes from her 2015 U23 World Championship games, and that the sudden fame was hard to handle.
With her U23 national team, she won the U23 Pan-American Cup and qualified for the 2017 FIVB U23 World Championship. She was also named the tournament's best digger.
Continuing Success (2017)
In September 2017, a Salvadoran newspaper ranked her among the 10 most beautiful athletes in the world. Winifer said it was an honor, but she wanted to be remembered for her volleyball skills.
She participated in the 2017 FIVB U23 World Championship in Slovenia, where her team lost the bronze medal match to Bulgaria. She played with Cienfuegos in the XLIII Intermunicipal volleyball tournament in Santiago, winning the championship and the Best Libero award. She also won the U23 tournament gold medal at the 2017 Bolivarian Games.
Teams Winifer Played For
- Santiago (2008)
- Cienfuegos (2010–2011)
- Santiago (2012)
- Telekom Baku (2013-2014)
- Rabita Baku (2014-2015)
- Mirador (2015)
- Cienfuegos (2015–2017)
Awards and Honors
Individual Awards
- 2010 NORCECA Youth Championship "Best Digger"
- 2010 NORCECA Youth Championship "Best Receiver"
- 2010 NORCECA Youth Championship "Best Libero"
- 2011 Girls' Youth Pan-American Cup "Best Libero"
- 2012 NORCECA Junior Championship "Most Valuable Player"
- 2012 NORCECA Junior Championship "Best Digger"
- 2012 NORCECA Junior Championship "Best Receiver"
- 2012 NORCECA Junior Championship "Best Libero"
- 2013 Junior Pan-American Cup "Best Digger"
- 2013 Junior Pan-American Cup "Best Libero"
- 2013 Baja California International Cup "Most Valuable Player"
- 2016 U23 Pan-American Cup "Best Digger"
Club Awards
- 2008 Dominican Republic Volleyball League –
Bronze medal, with Santiago
See also
In Spanish: Winifer Fernández para niños
