Vanessa Fernandes

Vanessa de Sousa Fernandes (pronounced|vɐˈnɛsɐ fɨɾˈnɐ̃dɨʃ; born September 14, 1985) is a Portuguese athlete from Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia and the current triathlon European and World champion. Vanessa has won the European Triathlon Championships five consecutive years (5 elite and 3 under-23 titles, still in progress), since 2004, and on September 1, 2007, she became World champion for the first time, in Hamburg, Germany, managing to grab the only title (apart from the Olympic sceptre) missing from her career.

In 1999, Fernandes was introduced to triathlon by her father Venceslau Fernandes, a former professional cyclist and winner of the 1984 Volta a Portugal. She competed for her local triathlon club and then for Belenenses where she became world champion of under-23. Later she signed for SL Benfica, in 2005. Occasionally, Fernandes enters cross country events. Fernandes competed at the Olympic Games for the first time in 2004. On the second Olympic triathlon competition, at age eighteen, she finished in eighth place with a total time of 2:06:15.39.

In June 2006, she won the International Triathlon Union World Cup, ranking number one in the world. [ [http://www.triathlon.org/docs/rankings-world-cup-women.pdf?ts=1165605855 2006 BG Triathlon World Cup rankings] .] In September, she equaled Australian Emma Carney's record number of consecutive wins in the World Cup, with a twelfth victory at the Beijing leg. Later that year, Fernandes was awarded with the "Best Female Athlete of the Year" prize from CNID ("Clube Nacional de Imprensa Desportiva"; _en. Sports Press National Club) at its annual sports gala. In 2008 she won her 5th-in-a-row Elite European Championships title, at home in Lisbon.

In August 2008, she finished second in the Beijing Olympic Games, winning the first olympic medal in her career.

Achievements

2001

*18th – European Championships (Carlsbad, Czech Republic) – junior
*2nd – European Duathlon Championships (Mafra, Portugal) – junior (team)

2002

*World Cup:
**34th (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary)
**29th (Nice, France)
**12th (Funchal, Portugal)
*4th – World Championships (Cancún, Mexico) – junior
*3rd – European Championships (Gyor, Hungary) – junior
*3rd – European Duathlon Championships (Zeitz, Germany) – junior

2003

*World Cup:
**10th (Ishigaki, Japan)
**9th (St. Anthonys, United States)
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
**9th (Funchal, Portugal)
**1st (Cancún, Mexico)
**3rd (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
*1st – Estoril International Triathlon (Estoril, Portugal)
*2nd – Praia da Vitória International Triathlon (Praia da Vitória, Portugal)
*5th – World Summer Games (Santos, Brazil)
*European Championships (Carlsbad, Czech Republic):
**1st – junior
**2nd – junior (team)
*3rd – World Championships (Queenstown, New Zealand) – junior
*1st – World Duathlon Championships (Affoltern, Switzerland) – junior

2004

*1st – Portugal National Championships
*World Cup:
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
**1st (Rio de Janeiro, Brazil)
*5th – World Championships (Funchal, Portugal)
*8th – Olympic Games (Athens, Greece)
*1st – European Under-23 Championships (Tiszaujvaros, Hungary)
*1st – European Championships (Valencia, Spain)

2005

*1st – European Under-23 Championships (Sofia, Bulgaria)
*1st – European Championships (Lausanne, Switzerland)
*4th – World Championships (Gamagori, Japan)
*World Cup:
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
**1st (Mazatlan, Mexico)
**1st (Beijing, China)
**1st (New Plymouth, New Zealand)

2006

*World Cup:
**1st (Aqaba, Jordan)
**1st (Mazatlan, Mexico)
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
**1st (Corner Brook, Canada)
**1st (Hamburg, Germany)
**1st (Beijing, China)
*3rd – Portugal Cross-Country Championships (Guimarães)
*1st – Portugal Triathlon Cup (Quarteira)
*1st – European Cup (Estoril, Portugal)
*1st – European Championships (Autun, France)
*1st – European Under-23 Championships (Rijeka, Croatia)
*5th – Life Time Fitness Triathlon (Minneapolis, United States)
*2nd – World Championships (Lausanne, Switzerland)
*1st – European Duathlon Championships (Rimini, Italy)
*6th – Corrida do Tejo (Lisbon, Portugal)

2007

*World Cup:
**3rd (Mooloolaba, Australia)
**1st (Ishigaki, Japan)
**1st (Lisbon, Portugal)
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
**1st (Salford, United Kingdom)
**1st (Beijing, China)
**1st (Rhodes, Greece)
*1st – World Duathlon Championships (Gyor, Hungary)
*1st – European Championships (Copenhagen, Denmark)
*1st - World Championships (Hamburg, Germany)
*1st – Life Time Fitness Triathlon (Minneapolis, United States)

2008

*Olympic Games (Beijing, China):
**2nd

*World Cup:
**2nd (Mooloolaba, Australia)
**1st (Madrid, Spain)
*1st – European Championships (Lisbon, Portugal)
*10th – World Championships (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada)

References

External links

* [http://www.vanessafernandes.net Official website – www.vanessafernandes.net]
* [http://www.triathlon.org International Triathlon Union (ITU) official website – www.triathlon.org]