Maria Laura Almirão (born September 20, 1977 in

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 ...

) is a Brazilian sprinter, who specialized in the

400 metres The 400 metres, or 400-meter dash, is a sprint event in track and field competitions. It has been featured in the athletics (sport), athletics programme at the Summer Olympics since 1896 for men and since 1964 for women. On a standard outdoor runn ...

. She is a two-time Olympian and a five-time medalist for the 400 metres and sprint relay at the Ibero-American Championships. Almirao qualified for the women's 400 metres at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics ( el, Θερινοί Ολυμπιακοί Αγώνες 2004, ), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad ( el, Αγώνες της 28ης Ολυμπιάδας, ) and also known as Athens 2004 ( el, Αθήνα 2004), ...

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital and largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh largest city in the European Union. Athens dominates ...

, by winning the gold medal from the Ibero-American Championships in

Huelva Huelva (, ) is a city in southwestern Spain, the capital of the province of Huelva in the autonomous community of Andalusia. It is between two short rias though has an outlying spur including nature reserve on the Gulf of Cádiz coast. The rias ...

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. She finished fifth in the second heat of the event by six hundredths of a second (0.06) behind Jamaica's

Nadia Davy Nadia Davy (born 24 December 1980) is a Jamaican American track and field athlete, competing internationally for Jamaica. She was a bronze medalist in the 4 x 400 meter relay at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens, Greece. Early life Davy was bo ...

, with a time of 52.10 seconds. Almirao eventually joined the national sprint team for the women's 4 × 400 m relay, along with her compatriots

Josiane Tito Josiane da Silva Tito (born August 8, 1979, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian sprinter and middle-distance runner. Career She set a personal best time of 2:01.28 for the 800 metres at the 2007 Pan American Games, coincidentally in her home city. ...

Lucimar Teodoro Lucimar Teodoro (born 1 May 1981) is a Brazilian track and field athlete who specialises in the 400 metres sprint and the 400 metres hurdles. Teodoro was born in Guararapes, São Paulo and began competing in senior athletics in 2001. She attended ...

, and

Geisa Coutinho Geisa Aparecida Muniz Coutinho (born 1 June 1980) is a Brazilian track and field athlete who competes in the 400 metres sprint. She represented Brazil at the 2004 Summer Olympics and at the 2012 Summer Olympics and is a four-time participant i ...

. She and her team placed sixth on the second heat of the relay, for a seasonal best time of 3:28.43. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and also known as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes from 204 Na ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

, Almirao competed again for the second time in individual and relay sprint events. For her first event,

, Almirao ran in the fourth heat against six other athletes, including Great Britain's

Christine Ohuruogu Christine Ijeoma Ohuruogu , MBE (born 17 May 1984) is a British former track and field athlete who specialised in the 400 metres, the event for which she is a former Olympic, World and Commonwealth champion. The Olympic champion in 2008, and s ...

, who eventually became an Olympic champion in the final. She finished the race again in fifth place by more than two seconds behind Ohuruogu, with a time of 53.26. Few days later, Almirao reunited with her teammates

, and

Emmily Pinheiro Emmily da Silva Pinheiro (born November 3, 1985, in Rio de Janeiro) is a Brazilian sprinter, who specialized in the 400 metres. Biography Pinheiro competed for the women's 4 × 400 m relay at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, along with her ...

for the women's 4 × 400 m relay. She ran on the starting leg of the second heat, with an individual-split time of 53.49 seconds. Almirao and her team finished the relay in sixth place for a total time of 3:30.10, failing to advance into the final. Almirao is also a full-time member of Associação Profissional BMF in

São Caetano do Sul São Caetano do Sul (or São Caetano) ('' Saint Cajetan of the South''. ) is a city in São Paulo state in Brazil. It is part of the Metropolitan Region of São Paulo. The population is 161,957 (2020 est.) in an area of 15.33 km2. It is the ci ...

, being coached and trained by Japanese-born Katsuhito Nakaya.

References

External links

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Profile – UOL Esporte

{{DEFAULTSORT:Almirao, Maria Laura Brazilian female sprinters Living people Olympic athletes for Brazil Athletes (track and field) at the 2004 Summer Olympics Athletes (track and field) at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletes from São Paulo 1977 births Pan American Games medalists in athletics (track and field) Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil Athletes (track and field) at the 2003 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Olympic female sprinters Universiade medalists in athletics (track and field) Universiade silver medalists for Brazil 21st-century Brazilian women