Daiane dos Santos

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Daiane Garcia dos Santos, usually known as Daiane dos Santos (born on February 10, 1983 in Porto Alegre, Rio Grande do Sul), is Brazil's most successful ever female gymnast. At the comparatively late age of 20, she won the world title on floor in the 2003 World Artistic Gymnastics Championships Anaheim, USA. The floor is her specialty apparatus. Renowned for her difficult tumbling, Dos Santos is unusual in gymnastics because she did not take up the sport until the age of 11.

Dos Santos most famous routine's music is called "Brasileirinho" (by Waldir Azevedo) which she used for major achievements during 2004/2005 season.

She represented Brazil in the 2004 Summer Olympics and qualified to the floor final here, where she debuted the Dos Santos II, a double arabian in the straight position. No other woman has performed it, but sadly for Daiane she stepped out of the floor area whilst doing so, placing fifth.

Dos Santos came back in December 2004 to become the World Cup floor champion, beating Cătălina Ponor and Cheng Fei into 2nd and 3rd place. She attempted to defend her World Championship title in 2005 in Melbourne, but a fall in the finals took her out of the medals and left the way clear for Alicia Sacramone of the USA. Daiane finished 7th and said goodbye for Brasileirinho's winning routine.

In 2006, Dos Santos with a brand new routine (music "Isto Aqui O Que É?" by Ary Barroso) won first gold medal under the new Artistic Gymnastics' score system Code of Points in a Moscow's leg of FIG's World Cup.

Daiane dos Santos decided to attend the 2006 World Championship, but she confirmed that she wouldn't use her Dos Santos II for a while. She placed 4th after minimal problems on her tumblings and new requirements for this new score system.

Dos Santos next competition will be the World Cup Final in her home country Brazil.