Lara Teixeira (born 26 November 1987) is a Brazilian synchronized swimmer. She competed in the women's duet at the

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 Summer Olympics and was part of the Brazilian team at the 2016 Summer Olympics. Her partner in 2008 and 2012 was Nayara Figueria. The team of Teixeira and Figueria were known for their innovative choreography and irreverent costumes. In total, Teixeira competed at 3 Olympic Games, 5 World Championships and 3 Pan American Games.

Career

Teixeira took up synchronised swimming at the age of 8, and began to compete for Brazil two years later. She was inspired by Camille Mourão, another Brazilian synchronised swimmer. Her other role model is Gemma Mengual. In 2007, she won a bronze at the Pan American Games, held in Rio. She also first teamed up with Figueria in this year, so their team only had a year's worth of experience when they competed at the 2008 Summer Olympics. The Brazilian duet pair did not reach the final, finishing in 13th place. At the 2009 World Aquatic Championships, the pair made the final, finishing in 11th. At the 2012 Olympics, the team of Teixeria and Figueria missed the final by only 0.3 points. Their technical routine costumes were in the style of Romero Brito and their music was by

Arnaldo Antunes Arnaldo Antunes (, born Arnaldo Augusto Nora Antunes Filho, September 2, 1960) is a Brazilian musician, writer, and composer. He was a member of the rock band Titãs, which he co-founded in 1982 and left ten years later. After 1992, he embarked ...

. That year, Teixeria created an academy to help develop the sport of synchronised swimming in Brazil. The team also won gold at the South American Synchronised Swimming Championships. She was appointed as an ambassador for the Youth Olympics for the 2014 Youth Olympics in

Nanjing Nanjing (; , Mandarin pronunciation: ), alternately romanized as Nanking, is the capital of Jiangsu province of the People's Republic of China. It is a sub-provincial city, a megacity, and the second largest city in the East China region. T ...

. At the time, she was not part of the Brazilian Olympic team, and she said the experience inspired her to fight harder and win a place in the team. She has the Olympic rings tattooed on her shoulder. She spent 3 years as the head coach of the New Zealand National Synchronised Swimming Team. Now she is the High Performance Manager, and Assistant Junior National Team Coach for the US synchronised swimming team.

References

1987 births Living people Brazilian synchronized swimmers Olympic synchronized swimmers for Brazil Synchronized swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Synchronized swimmers at the 2012 Summer Olympics Synchronized swimmers at the 2016 Summer Olympics Synchronized swimmers at the 2015 Pan American Games Synchronized swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Pan American Games medalists in synchronized swimming Pan American Games bronze medalists for Brazil South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in synchronized swimming Competitors at the 2010 South American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games Swimmers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 21st-century Brazilian women {{Brazil-swimming-bio-stub