Juliana Paula Gomes dos Santos (née de Azevedo; born 12 July 1983) is a Brazilian

middle-distance runner Middle-distance running events are track races longer than sprints, up to 3000 metres. The standard middle distances are the 800 metres, 1500 metres and mile run, although the 3000 metres may also be classified as a middle-distance event. The 1 ...

. Her greatest achievement is a gold medal in the

1500 metres The 1500 metres or 1,500-metre run (typically pronounced 'fifteen-hundred metres') is the foremost middle distance track event in athletics. The distance has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896 and the World Championships in Athletic ...

at the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games, were a major continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of 5,633 athletes from 42 National Olympic Com ...

held in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the state of the same name, Brazil's third-most populous state, and the second-most populous city in Brazil, after São Paulo. Listed by the GaWC as a b ...

. She is a three-time gold medallist at the

South American Championships in Athletics The South American Championships in Athletics is a biennial athletics event organized by CONSUDATLE. The first edition in 1919 was competed between only two countries (Chile and Uruguay), but it has since expanded and has generally been held every t ...

, being the 1500 m champion in 2003 and 2006, as well as a

4×400 metres relay Four-wheel drive, also called 4×4 ("four by four") or 4WD, refers to a two-axled vehicle drivetrain capable of providing torque to all of its wheels simultaneously. It may be full-time or on-demand, and is typically linked via a transfer case ...

champion. Santos was a two-time champion over

800 metres The 800 metres, or meters ( US spelling), is a common track running event. It is the shortest commonly run middle-distance running event. The 800 metres is run over two laps of an outdoor (400-metre) track and has been an Olympic event since the ...

at both South American Youth and

Junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

levels before taking a bronze medal at the

2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics The 2002 World Junior Championships in Athletics were held in Kingston, Jamaica from July 16 to July 21, 2002. Men's Results Women's Results Medal table Participation According to an unofficial count through an unofficial result list, ...

. As a senior athlete, she has won nine Brazilian titles, including six consecutive titles in the 1500 m from 2003 to 2008. She holds personal bests of 2:01.25 minutes for the 800 m and 4:07.30 minutes for the 1500 m; the latter is the Brazilian record for the distance. She is married to

Marílson Gomes dos Santos Marílson Gomes dos Santos (born 6 August 1977) is a Brazilian long-distance runner. He won the 2006 and 2008 New York City Marathon, becoming the first South American to win the race. He was selected as the best male performer at the 2009 B ...

, another Brazilian runner and the first South American victor at the

New York City Marathon The New York City Marathon (currently branded TCS New York City Marathon after its headline sponsor) is an annual marathon () that courses through the five boroughs of New York City. It is the largest marathon in the world, with 53,627 finishe ...

Career

Youth and junior career

Born Juliana Paula de Azevedo in

Cubatão Cubatão is a city in the state of São Paulo, Brazil, 12 kilometers away from Santos seaport, the largest in Latin America. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of Baixada Santista. The population is 131,626 (2020 est.) in an area of 142.88 ...

São Paulo São Paulo (, ; Portuguese for 'Saint Paul') is the most populous city in Brazil, and is the capital of the state of São Paulo, the most populous and wealthiest Brazilian state, located in the country's Southeast Region. Listed by the GaWC a ...

,Juliana Gomes
. UOL. Retrieved on 2014-11-03. she competed in track competitions as a teenager. Her first international success came at the 1998 South American Youth Championships in Athletics, where she was the gold medallist in the

. She retained that title two years later at the 2000 edition. That same year she won her first medal at

junior Junior or Juniors may refer to: Arts and entertainment Music * ''Junior'' (Junior Mance album), 1959 * ''Junior'' (Röyksopp album), 2009 * ''Junior'' (Kaki King album), 2010 * ''Junior'' (LaFontaines album), 2019 Films * ''Junior'' (1994 ...

level, although her age category rival

Jenny Mejías Jenny may refer to: * Jenny (given name), a popular feminine name and list of real and fictional people * Jenny (surname), a family name Animals * Jenny (donkey), a female donkey * Jenny (gorilla), the oldest gorilla in captivity at the time of ...

pushed her into second place at the

2000 South American Junior Championships in Athletics The 32nd South American Junior Championships in Athletics were held in São Leopoldo, Brazil at the University of Unisinos Track club from October 7–8, 2000. Athletes from Portugal were invited to participate as guests. Participation (unoffic ...

. The roles were reversed over the two successive competitions, as Azevedo was crowned South American junior champion over 800 m in

2001 The September 11 attacks against the United States by Al-Qaeda, which Casualties of the September 11 attacks, killed 2,977 people and instigated the global war on terror, were a defining event of 2001. The United States led a Participants in ...

and

2002 File:2002 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City; Queen Elizabeth The Queen Mother and her daughter Princess Margaret, Countess of Snowdon die; East Timor gains East Timor independence, indepe ...

(the latter victory coming on home soil as part of the

2002 South American Games The VII South American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Sudamericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos'') were a multi-sport event held in 2002 in Rio de Janeiro, São Paulo, Curitiba, and Belém; all in Brazil. The Games were organized by the South ...

). She was chosen to represent Brazil at the

and she produced a personal best in the 800 m final. She was beaten by winner

Janeth Jepkosgei Janeth Jepkosgei Busienei (born 13 December 1983) is a Kenyan middle distance runner and former world champion. Early career Janeth, nicknamed "Eldoret Express" is from Kabirirsang, near Kapsabet. Famous athletes Wilson Kipketer and Wilfre ...

(a future world champion) but edged out Great Britain's

Jemma Simpson Jemma Louise Simpson OLY (born 10 February in Plymouth) is a Great Britain, British athlete who competes in the 800 metres and 1500 metres. She is a former British champion over 800m, winning both 2007, 2009 and 2010 UK Athletics, British Champi ...

to secure the bronze medal – her first global medal. She made her senior international debut for Brazil that season, running in the 800 m at the

2002 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2002 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (''Spanish: X Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was the tenth edition of the international athletics competition between Ibero-American nations which was held at the Estadio Cementos Progre ...

, where she placed sixth.

South American titles

She entered the senior ranks fully in the 2003 season. She placed third in the 800 m at the

Brazilian Athletics Championships Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may als ...

, but showed new strength in the

discipline by winning her first national title in a personal best of 4:19.16 minutes at the distance.Brazilian Championships
GBR Athletics. Retrieved on 2014-11-03. At the

2003 South American Championships in Athletics The 2003 South American Championships in Athletics were held from June 20 to June 22 at the Polideportivo Máximo Viloria in Barquisimeto, Venezuela. Detailed day-by-day reports can be found on the IAAF website. Medal summary Men's even ...

she was dominant in the longer event, setting a personal best and championship record of 4:17.54 minutes to win by a margin of four seconds over runner-up

Niusha Mancilla Niusha Carmen Mancilla Heredia (born 19 January 1971 in Cochabamba) is a Bolivian former middle and long-distance runner. She holds the Bolivian records from 800 metres up to the 15 km road distance, as well as for the 3000 metres steeple ...

. She did not appear internationally in 2004 but retained her national title in 1500 m and ran an 800 m best of 2:02.60 minutes. She repeated that feat the following year, winning a third straight Brazilian title and an improvement to 2:01.25 minutes.Juliana Paula Santos
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-11-03. At the 2006 Brazilian Championships she secured an 800/1500 m double, including a new best of 4:16.25 minutes over the longer distance. She returned to the top of the regional scene with two gold medals at the

2006 South American Championships in Athletics The 2006 in athletics (track and field), 2006 South American Championships in Athletics were held at the Estadio La Independencia in Tunja, Colombia from 29 September to 1 October. The competition represented a departure from the traditional bienn ...

, first in the 1500 m (regaining her title from Rosibel García) and then in the

which the Brazilian women won by several seconds.

Pan American champion

She married fellow Brazilian runner

around the start of 2007 and began competing under her married name, Juliana Gomes dos Santos. A fifth straight title in the 1500 m came at the Brazilian Championships that year and she was selected to run at the

. There she became the first South American woman to win the 1500 m Pan American title, seeing off American Mary Jayne Harrelson by a margin of nearly two seconds. Hers was one of nine athletics gold medals for the hosts in

. She ran in the 800 m heats the same day, but did not make the final of that discipline. She ran in Europe that June a set a personal best of 4:11.39 minutes in

Neerpelt Neerpelt (, literally ''Lower Pelt'') is a town in Pelt and a former municipality located in the Belgian province of Limburg. In 2018, the municipality had a total population of 17,174. The total area is 42.78 km². Effective 1 January 2019, ...

. Santos won another 1500 m national title in 2008, but did not compete internationally over the following seasons and missed 2009 entirely. She returned to action in 2010 and ran a Brazilian record time of minutes in the 1500 m to claim the silver medal at the

2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics The 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics (Spanish: ''XIV Campeonato Iberoamericano de Atletismo'') was an athletics competition which was held at the Estadio Municipal Bahía Sur in San Fernando, Cádiz, Spain from 4–6 June. A total ...

(beaten only by Spain's

Nuria Fernández Nuria Fernández Domínguez (born 16 August 1976 in Luzern, Switzerland) is a Spanish middle distance runner. She specialises in the 1500 metres and is the Spanish record holder in the mile run and the 1500 m indoors. Career Fernández ha ...

who was implicated in a doping scandal that year). However, this was a brief resurgence as she did not compete after that event and missed the 2011 season. The highlight of her 2012 was a middle-distance double at the Brazilian Championships. Santos made her first international appearance in

cross country running Cross country running is a sport in which teams and individuals run a race on open-air courses over natural terrain such as dirt or grass. The course, typically long, may include surfaces of grass and earth, pass through woodlands and open coun ...

at the

2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2013 IAAF World Cross Country Championships took place on March 24, 2013. The races were held at the Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland. Kenya topped the medal standings in the competition with 5 gold, and Ethiopia had the most overall ...

and on her first attempt placed 69th in the women's race. She ran a personal best of 16:56.73 minutes for the

5000 metres The 5000 metres or 5000-metre run is a common long-distance running event in track and field, approximately equivalent to or . It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics, run over laps of a stan ...

of the track that summer. Two international medals came at the 2014 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, held on her home area of

. She was the bronze medallist in the 1500 m and successfully stepped up a distance with a gold medal over

3000 metres The 3000 metres or 3000-metre run is a track running event, also commonly known as the "3K" or "3K run", where 7.5 laps are run around an outdoor 400 m track, or 15 laps around a 200 m indoor track. It is debated whether the 3000m shoul ...

. In spite of this success, when it came to the national stage she was relegated to runner-up in both middle-distance track events, losing to Jessica dos Santos in the 800 m and Flávia de Lima in the 1500 m.NC São Paulo BRA 9 - 12 October National Championships, 32nd Troféu Caixa de Atletismo
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 2014-11-03.

Personal bests

– 2:01.25 min (2005) *

– 4:07.30 min (2010) *

– 9:19.80 min (2014) *

– 16:56.73 min (2013)

National titles

: 2006, 2012 **

: 2003, 2004, 2005, 2006, 2007, 2008, 2012

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Santos, Juliana Paula dos 1983 births Living people Athletes from São Paulo (state) Brazilian female middle-distance runners Brazilian female long-distance runners Brazilian female steeplechase runners Pan American Games athletes for Brazil Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Athletes (track and field) at the 2007 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2015 Pan American Games Athletes (track and field) at the 2016 Summer Olympics Olympic athletes for Brazil South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in athletics Competitors at the 2002 South American Games Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games People from Cubatão