Paulo Roberto de Almeida Paula (born 8 July 1979) is a Brazilian

long-distance runner Long-distance running, or endurance running, is a form of continuous running over distances of at least . Physiologically, it is largely Aerobic exercise, aerobic in nature and requires endurance, stamina as well as mental strength. Within e ...

who competes in

marathon The marathon is a long-distance foot race with a distance of , usually run as a road race, but the distance can be covered on trail routes. The marathon can be completed by running or with a run/walk strategy. There are also wheelchair div ...

races. He finished 8th at the

2012 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 ...

and 15th at the

2016 Rio 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 de ...

. He is a member of the Cruzeiro Sport Club. He began competing nationally in his teenage years. He was runner-up over

10,000 metres The 10,000 metres or the 10,000-metre run is a common long-distance track running event. The event is part of the athletics programme at the Olympic Games and the World Athletics Championships, and is common at championship level events. The race ...

at the 1998 Brazilian Junior Championships with a run of 30:42.94 minutes. He began to progress in the senior ranks of the event in 2002, finishing fourth at the

Brazilian Athletics Championships Brazilian commonly refers to: * Something of, from or relating to Brazil * Brazilian Portuguese, the dialect of the Portuguese language used mostly in Brazil * Brazilians, the people (citizens) of Brazil, or of Brazilian descent Brazilian may als ...

with a run of 28:58.03 minutes. However, he did not frequently compete at the top level over the following years.Paulo Roberta Paula
Tilastopaja. Retrieved on 6 May 2013. He moved up to the

half marathon A half marathon is a road running event of —half the distance of a marathon. It is common for a half marathon event to be held concurrently with a marathon or a 5K race, using almost the same course with a late start, an early finish or shortcu ...

distance, and in 2007 he was runner-up at the São Paulo Half Marathon with a time of 64:29 minutes. He repeated that feat in 2008 and 2009 and improved his best time to 64:26 minutes over the period. His

debut followed in 2011 with a run at the

Amsterdam Marathon The Amsterdam Marathon (branded TCS Amsterdam Marathon for sponsorship reasons) is an annual marathon (42.195 km) in Amsterdam in the Netherlands since 1975. The road race has a Platinum Label from World Athletics. During the event, there a ...

, where his finishing time of 2:13:15 hours was enough for 17th place. Two better performances in 2012 (2:11:51 at the

Barcelona Marathon The Zurich Barcelona Marathon ( Catalan: ''Marató Barcelona''), formerly the Marathon Catalunya and later the Marató de Catalunya, is an annual marathon race over the classic distance of usually held in March in Barcelona, Catalonia, Spain, ...

, then 2:10:23 for third at the

Maratona di Sant'Antonio The Maratona di Sant'Antonio (also known as the ''Maratona S. Antonio'' and ''Padua Marathon'') is an annual road running competition which takes place in April in Padua, Italy. The event features a full marathon race (42.195 km), a half mara ...

) saw him chosen for the Brazilian team for the

2012 London 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 ...

. At the start of 2013, he dropped out of the

Lake Biwa Marathon The was a marathon race held in Otsu, Shiga, Japan. It was one of the prominent marathons in Japan. It was a male only competition and had IAAF Gold Label status.Nakamura, Ken (2010-03-07)Tsegay takes Lake Biwa crown IAAF. Retrieved on 2010-03-08 ...

, but he showed a resurgence of form by winning the Maratona di Sant'Antonio in Italy – his first international victory. In 2019, he competed in the men's marathon at the

2019 World Athletics Championships The 2019 IAAF World Athletics Championships () was the seventeenth edition of the biennial, global athletics competition organised by the International Association of Athletics Federations (IAAF), since renamed World Athletics. It was held betw ...

held in Doha, Qatar. He finished in 19th place. He competed at the

2020 Summer Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the host city during the ...

. Paula serves in the Brazilian Army. His twin brother Luiz Fernando is also an international long-distance runner. He tried to qualify in the marathon for the 2012 Olympics.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Paula, Paulo Roberto 1979 births Living people Athletes from São Paulo Brazilian male long-distance runners Brazilian male marathon runners Olympic athletes for Brazil Athletes (track and field) at the 2012 Summer Olympics World Athletics Championships athletes for Brazil Athletes (track and field) at the 2020 Summer Olympics 20th-century Brazilian people 21st-century Brazilian people