Vera Santos
| Personal information | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 3, 1981 |
| Height | 1.64 m (5 ft 4 1⁄2 in) |
| Weight | 57 kg (126 lb) |
| Sport | |
| Country |
 Portugal |
| Sport | Athletics |
| Event(s) | 20km Race Walk |
Vera Lúcia Montez dos Santos (born 3 December 1981 in Santarém, Lezíria do Tejo) is a Portuguese race walker.
She began racing at the senior international level in 2002, taking part in the 2002 European Athletics Championships. Her first major medal was a silver at the 2003 European Athletics U23 Championships and she went on to compete at that year's World Championships in Athletics. Santos finished 15th at the 2005 World Championships but managed a silver at the 2005 Summer Universiade. She won the bronze at the 2008 IAAF World Race Walking Cup and then went on to finish ninth in a personal best time at the 2008 Beijing Olympics later that year. She put in the highest-ranking performance at the 2009 World Championships, taking fifth place.
Santos won her first national racewalking title in 2005 and became a two-time national champion in 2010 with a win at the Meeting de Marcha Atlética da Cidade de Olhao.[1] She took another victory on home turf soon after, winning the Grande Premio Internacional en Marcha Atletica in Rio Maior. She led the race throughout, holding off China's Li Yanfei, and after the win she began altitude training to prepare for the upcoming World Race Walking Cup.[2] She took her third circuit win of the year at the Coppa Città di Sesto San Giovanni.[3]
Her personal best performance came at the 2008 Olympic Games, where her time of 1:28:14 gave her a ninth place finish.
Achievements
| Representing Portugal | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2000 | European Race Walking Cup | Eisenhüttenstadt, Germany | 8th | 10 km | Junior race |
| World Junior Championships | Santiago, Chile | 5th | 10,000 m | ||
| 2002 | European Championships | Munich, Germany | 17th | 20 km | |
| 2003 | European U23 Championships | Bydgoszcz, Poland | 2nd | 20 km | |
| World Championships | Paris, France | 15th | 20 km | ||
| 2005 | World Championships | Helsinki, Finland | 15th | 20 km | |
| Universiade | İzmir, Turkey | 2nd | 20 km | ||
| 2006 | European Championships | Gothenburg, Sweden | 8th | 20 km | |
| 2007 | World Championships | Osaka, Japan | 11th | 20 km | |
| 2008 | World Race Walking Cup | Cheboksary, Russia | 3rd | 20 km | |
| Olympic Games | Beijing, China | 9th | 20 km | ||
| 2009 | European Race Walking Cup | Metz, France | — | 20 km | DSQ |
| World Championships | Berlin, Germany | 5th | 20 km | ||
| 2010 | European Championships | Barcelona, Spain | 6th | 20 km | |
References
- ↑ Fernandes, Antonio, Manuel (2010-02-21). Santos beats the conditions in Olhão – IAAF Race Walking Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-02-22.
- ↑ Fernandes, António Manuel (2010-04-11). Santos and Tysse take Rio Maior wins – IAAF Race Walking Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-04-11.
- ↑ Sampaolo, Diego (2010-05-02). Schwazer and Santos dominate in Sesto San Giovanni - IAAF Race Walking Challenge. IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-05-02.
External links
- Vera Santos profile at IAAF
- sports-reference