Marianne Steinbrecher (born August 23, 1983) is a Brazilian

volleyball Volleyball is a team sport in which two teams of six players are separated by a net. Each team tries to score points by grounding a ball on the other team's court under organized rules. It has been a part of the official program of the Sum ...

player, who plays as a wing spiker at Molico/Osasco. She represented her native country at the 2008 Summer Olympics in

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 ...

, China, in which she helped her country win the gold medal.

Life and career

Born 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 Ga ...

, Steinbrecher, who is of

Russian Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including: *Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries *Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...

and

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descent, started playing volleyball when she was 14 years old. After playing for Rolândia/Faccar and Grêmio Londrinense, she professionalized while playing for Osasco. Playing for Osasco, she won the

Salonpas Cup The Salonpas Cup (sometimes called Torneio Internacional de Vôlei Feminino or Women's Volleyball International Cup) created by DeBrito Propaganda for Hisamitsu Pharmaceutical is an international women's volleyball club cup competition played annual ...

in 2001, in 2002 and in 2005, the Campeonato Paulista in 2003, and the Superliga in 2003–04. In 2006, she left Osasco and joined Italian club

Scavolini Pesaro Victoria Libertas (also known as "VL" or in Italian ''Vuelle''), full name Unione Sportiva Victoria Libertas Pallacanestro, is a professional basketball team that is based in Pesaro, Italy. The club competes in the top level Italian professiona ...

. In 2008, she returned to Brazil to play for São Caetano/Blausiegel in the Copa Brasil. In 2010, she signed a contract with the Brazilian club Unilever Volley. She played with Fenerbahçe in the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship held in

Doha Doha ( ar, الدوحة, ad-Dawḥa or ''ad-Dōḥa'') is the capital city and main financial hub of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf coast in the east of the country, north of Al Wakrah and south of Al Khor, it is home to most of the count ...

Qatar Qatar (, ; ar, قطر, Qaṭar ; local vernacular pronunciation: ), officially the State of Qatar,) is a country in Western Asia. It occupies the Qatar Peninsula on the northeastern coast of the Arabian Peninsula in the Middle East; it ...

and helped her team to win the bronze medal after defeating Puerto Rico's Lancheras de Cataño 3–0.

National team

Playing for the

national team A national sports team (commonly known as a national team or a national side) is a team that represents a nation, rather than a particular club or region, in an international sport. The term is most commonly associated with team sports, for exa ...

, she won the

FIVB World Grand Prix The FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix was an annual women's volleyball competition created in 1993. The men's version of the competition was called World League. This event should not be confused with the other international volleyball competitio ...

in 2004, in 2006, in 2008 and in 2009. In the 2008 FIVB World Grand Prix, she was awarded the competition's Most Valuable Player (MVP). Steinbrecher participated in the 2004 Summer Olympics, in which her country finished in the fourth place, after being defeated by

Cuba Cuba ( , ), officially the Republic of Cuba ( es, República de Cuba, links=no ), is an island country comprising the island of Cuba, as well as Isla de la Juventud and several minor archipelagos. Cuba is located where the northern Caribbea ...

in the bronze medal match. In 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 C ...

, she won the silver medal, after her country was defeated by Cuba in the final. In 2008, on her birthday, in Beijing, Steinbrecher won her first gold medal in the Olympic Games, after her country beat the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

3–1 in the gold medal match. Mari took part of the National Team who won the gold medal at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games, was an international multi-sport event that was held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Jalisco, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby cities of Ciudad Guzmán, ...

held in Guadalajara,

Mexico Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...

Personal life

Mariane

came out Coming out of the closet, often shortened to coming out, is a metaphor used to describe LGBT people's self-disclosure of their sexual orientation, romantic orientation, or gender identity. Framed and debated as a privacy issue, coming out of ...

when the newspaper Extra reported her and her girlfriend.