Vanessa Fernandes
| ||
Medal record | ||
---|---|---|
Competitor for Portugal | ||
Women's triathlon | ||
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 Tiszaujvaros | 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 Gyor | Junior women's race |
Women's duathlon | ||
ITU Duathlon World Championships | ||
Gold | 2007 Gyor | 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 |
Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes (Portuguese pronunciation: [vɐˈnɛsɐ fɨɾˈnɐ̃dɨʃ]; born September 14, 1985) is a Portuguese athlete from Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia and a former triathlon European and World champion. She won the European Triathlon Championships five consecutive years (5 elite and 3 under-23 titles), beginning in 2004, and on September 1, 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.
In 1999, Fernandes was introduced to triathlon by her father Venceslau Fernandes, a former professional cyclist and winner of the 1984 Volta a Portugal. She competed for her local triathlon club and then for Belenenses where she became world champion of under-23. Later in 2005, Vanessa joined Sport Lisboa e Benfica and represents the club to this day. Occasionally, Fernandes enters cross country events. Fernandes 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, she won the International Triathlon Union World Cup, ranking number one in the world.[1] 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, Fernandes 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.
In August 2008, she finished second in the Beijing Olympic Games, winning the first olympic medal in her career.
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
- 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:
- 1st (Madrid, Spain)
- 1st (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
- 5th – World Championships (Funchal, Portugal)
- 8th – Olympic Games (Athens, Greece)
- 1st – European Under-23 Championships (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary)
- 1st – European Championships (Valencia, Spain)
2005
- 1st – European Under-23 Championships (Sofia, Bulgaria)
- 1st – European Championships (Lausanne, Switzerland)
- 4th – World Championships (Gamagori, Japan)
- World Cup:
- 1st (Madrid, Spain)
- 1st (Mazatlán, Mexico)
- 1st (Beijing, China)
- 1st (New Plymouth, New Zealand)
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
- Olympic Games (Beijing, China):
- 2nd
- World Cup:
- 2nd (Mooloolaba, Australia)
- 1st (Madrid, Spain)
- 1st – European Championships (Lisbon, Portugal)
- 10th – World Championships (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)
References
External links
Awards | ||
---|---|---|
Preceded by Diana Gomes |
Portuguese Sportswoman of the Year 2006 – 2008 |
Succeeded by Michelle Larcher de Brito |
|
|
|
|