Maria Elisa Guimarães Zanini (born September 23, 1958, 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 ...

) is a former international

freestyle Freestyle may refer to: Brands * Reebok Freestyle, a women's athletic shoe * Ford Freestyle, an SUV automobile * Coca-Cola Freestyle, a vending machine * ICD Freestyle, a paintball marker * Abbott FreeStyle, a blood glucose monitor by Abbott La ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

Brazil Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...

, who participated in a

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques d'été), also known as the Games of the Olympiad, and often referred to as the Summer Olympics, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inau ...

for her native country. At 15 years old, she participated at the inaugural World Aquatics Championships in 1973 Belgrade, where she finished 10th in the 400-metre freestyle, 12th in the 800-metre freestyle, and 15th in the 200-metre freestyle. She was at the

1975 World Aquatics Championships The 1975 World Aquatics Championships took place in Cali, Colombia between July 19 and July 27, 1975, with 682 participating athletes. Medal table Medal summary Diving ;Men ;Women Swimming ;Men ;Women Synchronised swimming Wat ...

Cali Santiago de Cali (), or Cali, is the capital of the Valle del Cauca department, and the most populous city in southwest Colombia, with 2,227,642 residents according to the 2018 census. The city spans with of urban area, making Cali the second ...

. In the 800-metre freestyle, she finished 17th, with a time of 9:34.48, far from her personal best at this moment, the South American record (9:15.77). In the 400-metre freestyle, she finished 17th, with a time of 4:34.89, far from her South American record (4:29.32). She was at the

1975 Pan American Games The 1975 Pan American Games were held in Mexico City, Mexico, from October 12 to October 26, 1975, exactly twenty years after the second Pan American Games were held there. It was the third major sporting event held in the Mexican capital in seve ...

, in

Mexico City Mexico City ( es, link=no, Ciudad de México, ; abbr.: CDMX; Nahuatl: ''Altepetl Mexico'') is the capital and largest city of Mexico, and the most populous city in North America. One of the world's alpha cities, it is located in the Valley o ...

, where she won the bronze medal in the 4×100-metre freestyle. She also finished 5th in the 200-metre freestyle, 5th in the 400-metre freestyle, and 6th in the 800-metre freestyle. At the

1976 Summer Olympics Events January * January 3 – The International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights enters into force. * January 5 – The Pol Pot regime proclaims a new constitution for Democratic Kampuchea. * January 11 – The 1976 Phi ...

, in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

, she swam the 400-metre and 800-metre freestyle, not reaching the finals. Participated at the

1978 World Aquatics Championships The 1978 World Aquatics Championships took place in the free city of West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West ...

West Berlin West Berlin (german: Berlin (West) or , ) was a political enclave which comprised the western part of Berlin during the years of the Cold War. Although West Berlin was de jure not part of West Germany, lacked any sovereignty, and was under mi ...

, where she finished 19th in the 200-metre freestyle, and 34th in the 100-metre freestyle. She was at the

1979 Pan American Games The 1979 Pan American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Panamericanos de 1979''), officially the VIII Pan American Games were a multi-sport event governed by the Panam Sports Organization, and were held in San Juan, Puerto Rico, from July 1 to July 15 ...

, in

San Juan San Juan, Spanish for Saint John, may refer to: Places Argentina * San Juan Province, Argentina * San Juan, Argentina, the capital of that province * San Juan, Salta, a village in Iruya, Salta Province * San Juan (Buenos Aires Underground), ...

, where she finished 5th in the 4×100-metre freestyle, 5th in the 4×100-metre medley, 6th in the 200-metre freestyle, and 14th in the 100-metre freestyle. She broke the South American record of all freestyle races (100,200,400,800 and 1500-metre freestyle). She was the first woman from South America to break the one-minute barrier in the 100-metre freestyle.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Guimaraes, Maria 1958 births Living people Brazilian female freestyle swimmers Swimmers at the 1975 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 1976 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 1979 Pan American Games Olympic swimmers for Brazil Swimmers from Rio de Janeiro (city) Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 1975 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian sportswomen 20th-century Brazilian sportspeople