Fabíola Pulga Molina (born May 25, 1975 in

São José dos Campos São José dos Campos (, meaning Saint Joseph of the Fields) is a major city and the seat of the Municipalities of Brazil, municipality of the same name in the state of São Paulo (state), São Paulo, Brazil. One of the leading industrial and res ...

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

) is a

butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

and

backstroke Backstroke or back crawl is one of the four Swimming (sport), swimming styles used in competitive events regulated by FINA, and the only one of these styles swum on the back. This swimming style has the advantage of easy breathing, but the disa ...

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

, who competed at the

2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...

2008 2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued throu ...

and

2012 2012 was designated as: *International Year of Cooperatives *International Year of Sustainable Energy for All Events January *January 4 – The Cicada 3301 internet hunt begins. * January 12 – Peaceful protests begin in the R ...

Olympics. A resident of

Coral Springs, Florida Coral Springs is a city in Broward County, Florida, United States. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the city had a population of 134,394. Approximately northwest of Fort Lauderdale, it is a principal city of the Miami metropolitan area in South ...

, she twice won the bronze medal with the women's relay team in the 4×100-metre medley at the

Pan American Games The Pan American Games, known as the Pan Am Games, is a continental multi-sport event in the Americas. It features thousands of athletes participating in competitions to win different summer sports. It is held among athletes from nations of th ...

(1995 and 1999). Molina trained at

The Race Club The Race Club is a swimming club known for training Olympic Games swimmers with its swimming training program that is focused on specific swimming techniques, located in Islamorada, Florida. History The Race Club was founded in 2003 by Gary ...

, a summer swimming camp founded by Olympic Swimmers Gary Hall, Jr. and his father, Gary Hall, Sr. The Race Club, originally known as "The World Team," was designed to serve as a training group for elite swimmers across the world in preparation for the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. To be able to train with the Race Club, one must either have been ranked in the top 20 in the world the past 3 calendar years or top 3 in their nation in the past year. The Race Club included such well known swimmers as

Roland Mark Schoeman Roland Mark Schoeman OIS (born 4 July 1980) is a South African and American former swimmer was a world record holder in multiple events, and was a member of the South African swimming team at the 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 Olympic Games. He ...

, Mark Foster,

Ryk Neethling Ryk Neethling OIS (born 17 November 1977) is a South African businessman who rose to prominence as a three-time World Aquatic Champion and four-time World Record breaking Olympic swimming champion, participating in four Olympics for South Af ...

, and

Therese Alshammar Malin Therese Alshammar (born 26 August 1977) is a Sweden, Swedish Swimming (sport), swimmer who has won three Olympic medals, 25 World Championship medals, and 43 European Championship medals. She is a specialist in short distances races in fre ...

International career

Olympic Games

At the

2000 Summer Olympics The 2000 Summer Olympics, officially the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, officially branded as Sydney 2000, and also known as the Games of the New Millennium, were an international multi-sport event held from 15 September to 1 October ...

Sydney Sydney is the capital city of the States and territories of Australia, state of New South Wales and the List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city in Australia. Located on Australia's east coast, the metropolis surrounds Syd ...

, Molina finished 24th in the 100-metre backstroke, and 36th in the 100-metre butterfly. At the

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

, Molina finished 10th in the 4×100-metre medley, and 18th in the 100-metre backstroke. She broke the South American record of the 100-metre backstroke at heats, with a time of 1:00.71, and in the 4×100-metre medley, doing 4:02.61. At the

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

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

, Molina finished 24th in the 100-metre backstroke.

World Championships

Molina participated in the 1995 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. She finished 6th in the 4×100-metre medley, with a time of 4:12.76, and 13th in the 200-metre backstroke, with a time of 2:13.96. She also swam the 100-metre backstroke. At the

1998 World Aquatics Championships The 8th FINA World Championships or the 1998 World Aquatics Championships were held from 8 to 17 January 1998 in Perth, Western Australia. The championships features competition in all five of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Water Polo, ...

Perth Perth () is the list of Australian capital cities, capital city of Western Australia. It is the list of cities in Australia by population, fourth-most-populous city in Australia, with a population of over 2.3 million within Greater Perth . The ...

, she finished 11th in the 100-metre backstroke, and 16th in the 200-metre backstroke. Molina participated in the

1999 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 4th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was an international swimming meet organized by FINA, held 1–4 April 1999 at the Hong Kong Coliseum Hong Kong Coliseum (), commonly and informally known as the Hung Hom Coliseum (, ) is a mu ...

Hong Kong Hong Kong)., Legally Hong Kong, China in international treaties and organizations. is a special administrative region of China. With 7.5 million residents in a territory, Hong Kong is the fourth most densely populated region in the wor ...

, where she finished 9th in the 100-metre individual medley, 10th in the 400-metre individual medley (breaking the South American record, with a time of 4:46.16), 12th in the 200-metre backstroke, and 13th in the 50-metre and 100-metre backstroke. 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 country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in th ...

Moscow Moscow is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Russia by population, largest city of Russia, standing on the Moskva (river), Moskva River in Central Russia. It has a population estimated at over 13 million residents with ...

, Molina finished 24th in the 50-metre backstroke, and 27th in the 100-metre backstroke. Swimming at the

2004 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 7th FINA Short Course World Championships were held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States from October 7 through October 11, 2004. This was the only edition of the Short Course World Championships that Michael Phel ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Molina finished 6th in the 50-metre backstroke final, her best position in World Championships, breaking the South American record with a time of 28.03 seconds. She also finished 12th in the 100-metre backstroke and 14th in the 100-metre butterfly. At the

2005 World Aquatics Championships The 2005 World Aquatics Championships () or the XI FINA World Championships were held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada from July 16 to July 31, 2005. They took place in Parc Jean-Drapeau on Saint Helen's Island. Competition Medal standings :''o ...

, in

Montreal Montreal is the List of towns in Quebec, largest city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, province of Quebec, the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-largest in Canada, and the List of North American cit ...

, she finished 14th in the 50-metre backstroke, and 19th in the 100-metre backstroke. At the

2006 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 8th FINA World Aquatics, formerly known as FINA (; ), is the international federation recognised by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) for administering international competitions in List of water sports, water sports. It is one o ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, Molina finished 13th in the 50-metre backstroke, and 16th in the 100-metre backstroke. At the

2007 World Aquatics Championships The 2007 World Aquatics Championships, or the XII FINA World Championships, were held in Melbourne, Australia from 17 March to 1 April 2007. The competition took place at three locations in central Melbourne: the Melbourne Sports and Aquatic C ...

, in

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

, she finished 13th in the 50-metre backstroke, 18th in the 100-metre backstroke, and 35th in the 100-metre butterfly. She broke the South American record in the 50-metre backstroke (29.02 seconds) and 100-metre backstroke (1:02.43). At the

2008 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 9th FINA Swimming World Championships (25 m) were held at the Manchester Arena, in Manchester, United Kingdom 9–13 April 2008. The United States topped the medal table with 10 gold medals, though host team Great Britain Great B ...

Manchester Manchester () is a city and the metropolitan borough of Greater Manchester, England. It had an estimated population of in . Greater Manchester is the third-most populous metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, with a population of 2.92&nbs ...

, Molina finished 11th in the 50-metre backstroke, and 14th in the 100-metre backstroke. At the

2009 World Aquatics Championships The 2009 World Aquatics Championships () or the XIII FINA World Championships were held in Rome, Italy from 18 July to 2 August 2009. This was the second time the championships were held in the city after being previously hosted in 1994 World Aq ...

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, she went to the 50-metre backstroke final, and finished in eighth place. She was also a finalist in the 4×100-metre medley, finishing 8th, and obtained the 14th place in the 100-metre backstroke. She broke the South American record of the 50-metre backstroke (27.70 seconds in semifinals), 100-metre backstroke (1:00.07 at 4×100-metre medley final, opening relay) and 4×100-metre medley (3:58.49 at heats). Participating in the

2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 15–19 December 2010. This swimming-only championships took place in the Dubai Sports Complex; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) ...

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, Molina reached the 50-metre backstroke final, finishing 8th. She was also a finalist in the 4×100-metre medley, finishing 8th and breaking the South American record, with a time of 3:59.45.; and placed 11th in the 100-metre backstroke. Molina was at the

2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 11th FINA World Swimming Championships (25m) was held in Istanbul, Turkey on 12–16 December 2012. This swimming-only championships took place in the Sinan Erdem Dome; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) pool. The United S ...

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, where she finished 7th in the 50-metre backstroke final, 10th in the 4×100-metre medley, and 22nd in the 100-metre backstroke.

Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

At the

2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The tenth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2006 in Victoria, British Columbia, Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, from August 17–20. Six List of world records in swimming, worl ...

Victoria Victoria most commonly refers to: * Queen Victoria (1819–1901), Queen of the United Kingdom and Empress of India * Victoria (state), a state of Australia * Victoria, British Columbia, Canada, a provincial capital * Victoria, Seychelles, the capi ...

, Molina finished 14th in the 100-metre butterfly and 22nd in the 100-metre backstroke. At the

2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The eleventh edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, also known as the 2010 Mutual of Omaha Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in Irvine, California, United States, from August 18–22. M ...

Irvine Irvine may refer to: Places On Earth Antarctica *Irvine Glacier * Mount Irvine (Antarctica) Australia * Irvine Island * Mount Irvine, New South Wales Canada * Irvine, Alberta * Irvine Inlet, Nunavut Scotland *Irvine, North Ayrshire, Scotlan ...

, Molina won a bronze medal in the 50-metre backstroke, in a rare result in swimming, where 3 players tied with the same time of 28.44 seconds. She also finished 8th in the 100-metre backstroke and dropped the 100-metre butterfly.

Pan American Games

At 16 years old, Molina participated in the

1991 Pan American Games The 1991 Pan American Games, officially known as the XI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Havana 1991 (), were held in Havana, Cuba from 2 to 18 August 1991. There were 4,519 athletes from 39 countries of the Pan American Sports Organi ...

Havana Havana (; ) is the capital and largest city of Cuba. The heart of La Habana Province, Havana is the country's main port and commercial center.1995 Pan American Games The 1995 Pan American Games, officially known as the XII Pan American Games () and commonly known as Mar del Plata 1995, were held in Mar del Plata, Argentina, from 12 to 26 March 1995. After 44 years, this was the Pan American Games' first retur ...

Mar del Plata Mar del Plata is a city on the coast of the Argentine Sea, Atlantic Ocean, in Buenos Aires Province, Argentina. It is the seat of General Pueyrredón Partido, General Pueyrredón district. Mar del Plata is the second largest city in Buenos Aires ...

, Molina won two bronze medals, in the 100-metre backstroke and in the 4×100-metre medley. She also finished 4th in the 200-metre backstroke, and 5th in the 400-metre individual medley. At the

1999 Pan American Games The 1999 Pan American Games, officially the XIII Pan American Games () or the 13th Pan American Games and commonly known as Winnipeg 1999, were a major international multi-sport event that was held from July 23 to August 8, 1999, in Winnipeg, Ma ...

Winnipeg Winnipeg () is the capital and largest city of the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian province of Manitoba. It is centred on the confluence of the Red River of the North, Red and Assiniboine River, Assiniboine rivers. , Winnipeg h ...

, Molina won a bronze medal in the 4×100-metre medley. She also finished 4th in the 400-metre individual medley, 5th in the 100-metre backstroke, 6th in the 200-metre backstroke, and 6th in the 200-metre individual medley. At 32 years old, in the

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

, she won the silver medal in the 100-metre backstroke, breaking the South American record. She also won bronze in the 4×100-metre medley, but the result was annulled due to

Rebeca Gusmão Rebeca Gusmão (born August 24, 1984) is a former freestyle swimmer from Brazil. She won the bronze medal in the women's 4×100 m freestyle relay at the Pan American Games in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. She also participated at the 20 ...

's doping, who participated in the relay. Already 36 years old, she went to the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

Guadalajara Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

, where she won a bronze medal in the 4×100-metre medley, and ranked 4th place in the 100-metre backstroke.

University

Molina participated in the

1995 Summer Universiade The 1995 Summer Universiade, also known as the XVIII Summer Universiade, took place in Fukuoka, Japan. Emblem The symbol mark is a motif of "U", expressing passion and energy in the flickering flames of a burning torch. In the flames one sees bo ...

Fukuoka is the List of Japanese cities by population, sixth-largest city in Japan and the capital city of Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The city is built along the shores of Hakata Bay, and has been a center of international commerce since ancient times. ...

, not winning medals. At the

1997 Summer Universiade The 1997 Summer Universiade, also known as the XIX Summer Universiade, took place in the island of Sicily, Italy. The United States topped the medal table. Venues Catania * Stadio Angelo Massimino — closing ceremonies and athletics * Teatro ...

Messina Messina ( , ; ; ; ) is a harbour city and the capital city, capital of the Italian Metropolitan City of Messina. It is the third largest city on the island of Sicily, and the 13th largest city in Italy, with a population of 216,918 inhabitants ...

, Molina won a silver medal in the 100-metre backstroke. She also finished 5th in the 200-metre backstroke, breaking the South American record, with a time of 2:17.39. Molina participated in the

2001 Summer Universiade The 2001 Summer Universiade, also known as the XXI Summer Universiade, was an international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, between 22 August and 1 September. Beijing also hosted the 1990 Asian Games. A total of 6,757 athle ...

, not winning medals. She finished 8th in the 200-metre backstroke, 9th in the 100-metre backstroke, and 11th in the 50-metre backstroke.

South American Games

At the

2010 South American Games The IX South American Games (Spanish: ''Juegos Sudamericanos''; Portuguese: ''Jogos Sul-Americanos'') was a multi-sport event held between 19 and 30 March 2010 in Medellín, Colombia. The Games were organized by the South American Sports Organi ...

Medellín Medellín ( ; or ), officially the Special District of Science, Technology and Innovation of Medellín (), is the List of cities in Colombia, second-largest city in Colombia after Bogotá, and the capital of the department of Antioquia Departme ...

, Molina won three gold medals in the 50-metre backstroke, 100-metre backstroke and 4×100-metre medley.

Military World Games

At the

2011 Military World Games The 2011 Military World Games (), officially known as the 5th CISM Military World Games (), was hosted from July 15–24, 2011 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. The 5th Military World Games was the largest military sports event ever held in Brazil, wit ...

, she won the gold medal in the 100-metre backstroke, and four silver medals in the 50-metre and 200-metre backstroke, 50-metre butterfly and 4×100-metre medley.

Personal bests

Fabíola Molina is the current holder, or former holder, of the following records: Long Course (50 meters): * Former Americas record holder of the 50m backstroke: 27.70, time obtained on July 29, 2009 * South American record holder of the 100m backstroke: 1:00.07, time obtained on August 1, 2009 * South American record holder of the 4 × 100 m medley: 3:58.49, time obtained on August 1, 2009 with Carolina Mussi,

Gabriella Silva Gabriella Machado e Silva (born December 12, 1988, in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil) is a Brazilian butterfly swimmer and Olympian. As of October 2008, she was the South American and Brazilian record holder in the long-course 100-metre butterfly. At t ...

and

Tatiana Lemos Tatiana Martine Lemos de Lima Barbosa (born December 10, 1978) is a freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from Brazil. In her career, she represented Minas Brasília, COPM de Brasília, Iate Clube de Brasília, AABB de Brasília, Clube do Exérc ...

Short course (25 meters): * Former South American record holder of the 50m backstroke: 26.61, time obtained on October 6, 2009 * Former South American record holder of the 100m backstroke: 57.63, time obtained on November 15, 2009 * South American record holder of the 100m medley: 1:00.66, time obtained on October 17, 2009 * South American record holder of the 4 × 100 m medley: 3:57.66, time obtained on December 14, 2012 with Beatriz Travalon,

Daynara de Paula Daynara Lopes Ferreira de Paula (born July 25, 1989, in Manaus, Amazonas, Brazil) is a Brazilian butterfly swimmer. International career 2008 Summer Olympics Rooted in São Caetano do Sul as a child, at 11 years old, she won sponsorship to co ...

and

Larissa Oliveira Larissa Martins de Oliveira (born 16 February 1993) is a Brazilian former freestyle swimmer. International career 2012–16 At the 2012 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Istanbul, she finished 6th in the 4×100-metre freestyle final ...

References

International career

Olympic Games

World Championships

Pan Pacific Swimming Championships

Pan American Games

University

South American Games

Military World Games

Personal bests

See also

References