Thaísa Daher de Menezes, also known as Thaísa Menezes or Thaísa Daher, is a professional volleyball player from Brazil. She won back-to-back gold medals at the

Olympics The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

2008 File:2008 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Lehman Brothers went bankrupt following the Subprime mortgage crisis; Cyclone Nargis killed more than 138,000 in Myanmar; A scene from the opening ceremony of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing; ...

and

2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...

. She has won numerous Best Spiker and Best Blocker Awards and is often singled out as one of the greatest Brazilian players of all time.

Biography

Thaísa was born in the Campo Grande district, located in the western part of Rio de Janeiro. Her father is a serviceman Domingos de Menezes and her mother Monica Daher is a descendant of immigrants from Lebanon. Until the age of 13, Thaísa was engaged in swimming, but then, following the example of her brother Tiago, she switched to volleyball. A year later, she was accepted into the youth team of the Tizhuk club, where Julio Cugna, one of the best mentors for working with young athletes, became her coach. In 2002, Thaísa was invited to the Minas team (Belo Horizonte)- one of the strongest in Brazil, with which she won her first club level medal that same season, becoming the silver medalist of the Brazilian championship. In the same 2002 (at the age of 15), Thaísa made her debut in two teams of her country at once - youth and junior, becoming the champion of two championships of South America with them. A year later, the volleyball player became the world champion both among youth teams and among juniors.

Career

Menezes was part of the Brazilian team that won the gold medal at the 2008 Summer Olympics. Menezes won the silver medal with Sollys Osasco at the 2010 FIVB World Club Championship. She also earned the Best Spiker award. At the 2011 Pan-American Cup, Menezes was given the Best Blocker award, and also won the gold medal with her national team. Menezes was 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 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 ...

, Mexico. In the

2012 FIVB World Grand Prix The 2012 FIVB World Grand Prix was a women's volleyball tournament played by 16 countries starting 8 June 2012. The finals were held at the Beilun Sports and Arts Centre in Ningbo, China.CSVFIVB announces pools for 2012 World Grand Prix(In Spanis ...

, Menezes won the silver medal with her national team and the individual award of Best Blocker. Menezes was part of the national team which won the gold medal at the

2012 Olympic Games The 2012 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXX Olympiad and also known as London 2012) was an international multi-sport event held from 27 July to 12 August 2012 in London, England, United Kingdom. The first event, the ...

held in London, UK. Playing with Sollys Nestlé Osasco, Menezes won the gold medal and the Best Spiker award in the 2012 FIVB Club World Championship held in Doha, Qatar. Menezes claimed the silver medal in the 2014 FIVB Club World Championship, playing with Molico Osasco, when her team lost 0–3 to the Russian Dinamo Kazan the championship match. She was named among the championship Best Team as Best Middle Blocker. Menezes played with her national team, winning the bronze at the 2014 World Championship when her team defeated Italy 3–2 in the bronze medal match.

Personal life

Menezes is of partial Lebanese origin. She was previously married to Guilherme Pallesi then divorced later.

Clubs

* Minas Tênis Clube (2002–2005) * Rio de Janeiro Vôlei Clube (2005–2008) * Osasco Voleibol Clube (2008–2016) * Eczacıbaşı VitrA (2016–2018) * Hinode Barueri (2018–2019) * Minas Tênis Clube (2019–)

Awards

Individual

Clubs

* 2005–06 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Rexona-Ades * 2006–07 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Rexona-Ades * 2007–08 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Rexona-Ades * 2009–10 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Sollys Osasco * 2011–12 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Sollys Osasco * 2020–21 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Itambé/Minas * 2021–22 Brazilian Superliga – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Itambé/Minas * 2022–23 Brazilian Superliga – Gorm silver cup

Runner-up, with Gerdau/Minas * 2009 South American Club Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Molico Osasco * 2010 South American Club Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Molico Osasco * 2011 South American Club Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Molico Osasco * 2012 South American Club Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Molico Osasco * 2014 South American Club Championship – Gorm silver cup

Runner-up, with Molico Osasco * 2015 South American Club Championship – Gorm silver cup

Runner-up, with Molico Osasco * 2020 South American Club Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Itambé/Minas * 2010 FIVB Club World Championship – Gorm silver cup

Runner-up, with Sollys Osasco * 2012 FIVB Club World Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Sollys Nestlé Osasco * 2014 FIVB Club World Championship – Gorm silver cup

Runner-up, with Molico Osasco * 2016 FIVB Club World Championship – Simple cup icon

Champion, with Eczacıbaşı VitrA

References

External links

Athlete bio at 2008 Olympics website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Menezes, Thaisa 1987 births Living people Volleyball players from Rio de Janeiro (city) Brazilian women's volleyball players Brazilian people of Lebanese descent Volleyball players at the 2007 Pan American Games Volleyball players at the 2008 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2012 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2016 Summer Olympics Volleyball players at the 2011 Pan American Games Olympic volleyball players for Brazil Olympic gold medalists for Brazil Olympic medalists in volleyball Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2008 Summer Olympics Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Brazilian expatriate sportspeople in Turkey Expatriate volleyball players in Turkey Pan American Games medalists in volleyball Middle blockers Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Sportspeople of Lebanese descent