Yane Márcia Campos da Fonseca Marques (born January 7, 1984 in

Afogados da Ingazeira Afogados da Ingazeira (''Jamestown'') is a Brazilian municipality in the state of Pernambuco. The estimated population in 2020, according with IBGE, was 37,404 and the total area is . It has a population density of 97 inhabitants per square kilomet ...

) is a

modern pentathlon The modern pentathlon is an Olympic sport consisting of fencing (one-touch épée), freestyle swimming, equestrian show jumping, pistol shooting, and cross country running. The event is inspired by the traditional pentathlon held during the anci ...

athlete from

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 ...

. She became nationally known despite the obscurity of her sport in the country after winning a bronze medal at the

2012 Summer Olympics 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 ...

, the first Latin American to medal and the only woman to do so.

Biography

Hailing from the

Sertão The ''sertão'' (, plural ''sertões'') is the "hinterland" or "backcountry". In Brazil, it refers both to one of the four sub-regions of the Northeast Region of Brazil (similar to the specific association of "outback" with Australia in English ...

of the Brazilian state of

Pernambuco Pernambuco () is a state of Brazil, located in the Northeast region of the country. With an estimated population of 9.6 million people as of 2020, making it seventh-most populous state of Brazil and with around 98,148 km², being the 19 ...

, Marques moved to the state capital

Recife That it may shine on all ( Matthew 5:15) , image_map = Brazil Pernambuco Recife location map.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in the state of Pernambuco , pushpin_map = Brazil#South A ...

at the age of 11 so her older siblings could attend college. One year later, she became a swimmer for

Clube Náutico Capibaribe Clube Náutico Capibaribe (), or simply Náutico, is a Brazilian multi-sport club based in Recife, Pernambuco. The club is most notable for its association football team, that plays in the Série C, the third tier of the Brazilian footbal ...

, where she competed alongside future Olympian

Joanna Maranhão Joanna de Albuquerque Maranhão Bezerra de Melo, or Joanna Maranhão (born April 29, 1987 in Recife, Pernambuco) is a swimmer from Brazil, who competed at three consecutive Summer Olympics for her native country, starting in 2004. She was a f ...

. Marques change of sport occurred in 2003, when she was invited to a biathle competition held by Pernambuco's recently inaugurated

federation, part of the then-new Brazilian confederation's plan to spread the sport. Marques won, and was invited by confederation founder Alexandre França to become a pentathlete. Just one year after changing to modern pentathlon, with França as part of her coaching staff, Marques was Brazilian and South American champion.A Woman Worth her Weight in Gold: The Story of Sergeant Yane Marques
/ref> The gold medal 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 ...

, held in

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 ...

, qualified Marques for her Olympian debut 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 ...

, where she finished 18th overall. The following year, Marques joined the Brazilian Army to gain the scholarship and training facilities reserved for

military sports Military sports are sports practiced by the military. They are the subject of international competitions, such as the Military World Games, with an objective relating to the physical training of military. Particular sports may be chosen to improve ...

people. Marques wound up topping the Brazilian pentathlon rankings in 2010, and became 3rd in the world in 2011, where she was a silver medalist at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games (also known colloquially as the Pan Am Games) is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas featuring summer sports, in which thousands of athletes participate in a variety of competitions. The competition is held ...

and three medals at the

Military World Games The Military World Games is a multi-sport event for military sportspeople, organized by the International Military Sports Council (CISM). They have been held since 1995, although championships for separate sports had been held for some years. A w ...

. Arriving at the

with medal expectations, Marques started with a 6th place in fencing, jumped to second following swimming and kept the position following the show jumping. The combined running/shooting closer had Marques win the bronze, Brazil's final medal in those Olympics. Following the Games, Marques rose to 2nd in the world rankings, preceded only by gold medallist Laura Asadauskaitė of Lithuania. Marques was chosen through popular vote to be the flagbearer of Brazil for the

opening ceremony An opening ceremony, grand opening, or ribbon-cutting ceremony marks the official opening of a newly-constructed location or the start of an event.

of the

2016 Summer Olympics The 2016 Summer Olympics ( pt, Jogos Olímpicos de Verão de 2016), officially the Games of the XXXI Olympiad ( pt, Jogos da XXXI Olimpíada) and also known as Rio 2016, was an international multi-sport event held from 5 to 21 August 20 ...

, which the country would host in

. She was only the second woman to hold the honor following Sandra Pires. With bad results in the fencing, Yane finished at 23rd in the modern pentathlon. Despite that, she expressed no regrets in the results, particularly as Marques' pentathlon performances helped spread her sport. Marques holds a degree at

physical education Physical education, often abbreviated to Phys Ed. or P.E., is a subject taught in schools around the world. It is usually taught during primary and secondary education, and encourages psychomotor learning by using a play and movement explorati ...

at Recife's UNINASSAU. She is married to a fellow pentathlete, Aloísio Sandes.

References

2011 Military Games results (archived)

2015 Military Games results
{{DEFAULTSORT:Marques, Yane 1984 births Living people Brazilian female modern pentathletes Olympic modern pentathletes for Brazil Olympic bronze medalists for Brazil Modern pentathletes at the 2007 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2008 Summer Olympics Modern pentathletes at the 2011 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2012 Summer Olympics Olympic medalists in modern pentathlon Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Modern Pentathlon Championships medalists Pan American Games gold medalists for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games medalists in modern pentathlon Modern pentathletes at the 2015 Pan American Games Modern pentathletes at the 2016 Summer Olympics South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in modern pentathlon Competitors at the 2014 South American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Medalists at the 2015 Pan American Games Sportspeople from Pernambuco