Michelle Lenhardt (born May 27, 1980 in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, , Brazilian ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of 1,488,252 inhabitants (2020) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, twelfth most populous city in the country ...

) is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in freestyle events. Graduatedat

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul ( pt, Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the ...

with a degree in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a product or service. Advertising aims to put a product or service in the spotlight in hopes of drawing it attention from consumers. It is typically used to promote a ...

, Lenhardt moved in 2004 to Santos city, where she began training in order to participate of the Olympics. Nicknamed ''Mischa'' by friends, she was removed from the Brazilian team

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 ...

due to the federation's error that signed three athletes to compete in the relay instead of allowed two. However, she got the vacancy to

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 ...

thanks to Rebeca Gusmao having been cut, after she was ordered a doping suspension, becoming the first

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, , ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative_units_of_Brazil#List, fifth-most-populous state and the List of Brazilian st ...

's female swimmer to compete at the Olympics. Lenhardt represented

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 ...

at the

, where she competed for the women's 4×100-metre freestyle relay, along with her fellow swimmers

Flávia Cazziolato Flávia is a Portuguese-language girl's name. It is the equivalent of Flavia (name) found in Italy and Spain. People *"Flávia", a 1987 song by Hermeto Pascoal from the album ''So Nao Toca Quem Nao Quer: Only If You Don't Want It'' *Flávia Delar ...

, Tatiana Barbosa, and

Monique Ferreira Monique Andrade Ferreira (born 29 June 1980 in Rio de Janeiro) is a freestyle swimmer from Brazil. A member of Santos. International career She represented her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and 2008 Summer Olymp ...

. She swam on the third leg, with an individual-split time of 55.90 seconds, finishing last in the first heat and thirteenth overall to her team, for a total time of 3:42.85. She broke the South American record of the 4 × 100 m free. On 6 September 2009, she broke again the South American record of the 4×100-metre freestyle, with a time of 3:41.49, along with

Tatiana Lemos Tatiana Martine Lemos de Lima Barbosa (born December 10, 1978) is a freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from Brazil. In her career, she represented Minas Brasília, COPM de Brasília, Iate Clube de Brasília, AABB de Brasília, Clube do Exérc ...

and

Julyana Kury Julyana Kury (born June 16, 1983 in São Paulo) is a Brazilian national delegate competitive swimmer, who joined the Brazilian national delegation in the 2008 Summer Olympics, recently held in Beijing, China, as a reserve/backup swimmer. Kury s ...

At the

2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 15–19 December 2010. This swimming-only championships took place in the Dubai Sports Complex; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) ...

, in

Dubai Dubai (, ; ar, دبي, translit=Dubayy, , ) is the most populous city in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the capital of the Emirate of Dubai, the most populated of the 7 emirates of the United Arab Emirates.The Government and Politics of ...

, she was at the 4×100-metre freestyle final, finishing in 8th place. In this relay, she broke the short-course South American record, with a time of 3:35.95, along with

, Flavia Delaroli and

She also got the 26th place in the 50-metre freestyle. At the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming, water polo, diving, open water, and synchro ...

Shanghai Shanghai (; , , Standard Mandarin pronunciation: ) is one of the four direct-administered municipalities of the People's Republic of China (PRC). The city is located on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the Huangpu River flow ...

, obtained the 13th place in the 4×100-metre freestyle. She won

's fourth silver medal for the 4×100-metre freestyle relay team 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, ...

in Guadalajara, Mexico.

Personal life

Lenhardt married fellow Brazilian swimmer

Bruno Fratus Bruno Giuseppe Fratus (born 30 June 1989) is a Brazilian competitive swimmer. He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In July 2021, Fratus became the first swimmer in history to swim the long course ...

in 2014 and now serves as one of his coaches.

References

External links

Profile – UOL Esporte

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenhardt, Michelle 1980 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Brazil Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Brazilian female freestyle swimmers Brazilian people of German descent Sportspeople from Porto Alegre Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in swimming South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games bronze medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2006 South American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 20th-century Brazilian women 21st-century Brazilian women