Poliana Okimoto (born March 8, 1983) is a Brazilian long-distance swimmer.

Career

She was at the

2002 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 6th FINA Short Course World Championships were held in Moscow, Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with ...

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

, where she finished 18th in the 800-metre freestyle. She won the

Travessia dos Fortes ''Travessia'' (English title: ''The Path'') is a Brazilian telenovela created by Glória Perez. It is produced and broadcast by TV Globo, and aired from 10 October 2022 to 5 May 2023. The telenovela follows the story of Brisa (Lucy Alves), who see ...

in 2005. Okimoto competed 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 Com ...

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 ...

, in the first appearance of the marathon swimming, where she received the silver medal in the Women's 10K, the first Brazilian medal at this edition. Okimoto finished 7th in the inaugural aquatic marathon (10 km race) at the 2008 Olympics. She also swam at the 2008 Open Water World Championships in Seville, Spain. In 2009, Okimoto won the marathon swimming World Cup, winning 9 of 11 stages held, becoming the first Brazilian champion of the sport. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships ( it, Campionati mondiali di nuoto 2009) or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. The 2009 Championships featured competition in all 5 aquatics disciplines ...

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, obtained the bronze medal. With that, she broke a 15 years-fast for Brazil in the World Championships, and became the first Brazilian woman to win a medal in the competition's history. She was considered by '' Época'' magazine one of the 100 most influential Brazilians in 2009. She was at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, where she finished 20th in the 400-metre freestyle. In 2010, she broke the short-course Brazilian records of the 800-metre freestyle (8:27.77) and 1500-metre freestyle (16:09.04). 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, ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( , ) is a metropolis in western Mexico and the capital of the list of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population of 1,385,629 people, making it the 7th largest city by population in Me ...

, Okimoto repeated the 2007 result, and again won the silver. In the 2012 Olympics in London Okimoto was unable to complete the race due to the water temperature, being disqualified. The frustration that followed led Okimoto to clinical depression and thoughts of abandoning the sport, before being convinced otherwise by among others her husband-coach Ricardo Cintra. At the

2013 World Aquatics Championships The 15th FINA World Championships ( ca, Campionat Mundial de Natació de 2013, es, Campeonato Mundial de Natación de 2013) were held from 20 July to 4 August in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain.Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...

, Poliana had a historical participation. She won the silver medal in the Women's 5K race, and, some days later, became the World Champion in the 10K race. Finishing, in the team event, she won the bronze medal with the Brazilian team, along with

Samuel de Bona Samuel Menegon de Bona (born 1 October 1990 in Porto Alegre) is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in the open water marathon. He trained at Grêmio Náutico União, in Porto Alegre. In April 2011, he won, for the first time, the Travessia d ...

and

Allan do Carmo Allan Lopes Mamédio do Carmo (born 3 August 1989) is a Brazilian swimmer, who specialized in open water marathon. He is considered one of the fastest professional open water swimmers in the world, finishing near the top of FINA World Cup races f ...

. On August 12, 2013, Okimoto broke the Brazilian record in the 1500-metre freestyle, with a time of 16:26.90. At the 2015 FINA World Championships in

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering a ...

, Okimoto finished 6th in the 10 km marathon. Okimoto initially finished fourth at the 10 km race at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

hosted by Brazil. A disqualification of second placed

Aurélie Muller Aurélie Muller (born 7 June 1990) is a French swimmer, who specializes in long-distance freestyle events and open water marathon. She won the 10-kilometer competition at the 2015 world championship in Kazan, Russia and at the 2017 world champion ...

upgraded her to the bronze, making Okimoto the first Brazilian woman to win a swimming Olympic medal. The following year, Okimoto wound up absent of the 2017 World Championships, finishing third in the national 10 km qualifiers and skipping the 5 km ones.Poliana Okimoto não comparece à prova dos 5km e está fora do Mundial de Esportes Aquáticos
/ref>

References

External links

2008 Olympics profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Okimoto, Poliana 1983 births Living people Brazilian female long-distance swimmers Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists in swimming Olympic swimmers of Brazil Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Swimmers from São Paulo Swimmers at the 2007 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Brazilian people of Japanese descent World Aquatics Championships medalists in open water swimming Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Medalists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Pan American Games medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2007 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Brazilian women

Career

See also

References

External links