First Brazilian Woman at the Olympics

July 5, 2016

First Brazilian Woman at the Olympics

Welcome back everyone!
On today’s Olympic Dica we’re gonna talk about a very special woman.
Brazilian women are very successful in the Olympic Games these days, but do you know who was the first Brazilian woman at the Olympics?

Daughter of German immigrants, Maria Lenk was the first Brazilian and also the first South American woman to participate in Olympic games, in 1932 in Los Angeles.

One stroke at a time

Everything started when Maria was ten years old. Her parents went through a scare after almost losing their daughter due to a double pneumonia. They thought that if she started swimming her health would improve. How right were they? Maria tried her first strokes in 1925, swimming in the Tietê river, in São Paulo.

Seven years later Maria was already considered a high level athlete, and that’s when she participated in the Olympic games, as the first Brazilian woman. Maria was the first in many things. Besides being the first woman in the games she was also the first Brazilian swimmer to establish a world record! But that’s not all!

The Hall of Fame

Maria Lenk was the first Brazilian woman to enter the Hall of Fame, in 1988, being honored for being one of the best master swimmers in the world. Maria had a long life of competitions. Believe it or not, she participated in the swimming world championship in the category 85-90 years old, in 2000, and took home five gold medals!

That’s is just simply amazing! How much energy did she have?

Well, that’s it guys!
We hope you enjoyed our Olympic Dica and don’t forget to subscribe to our Youtube Channel, and always stay tunned!

We’ll see you on the next one!

Click in the links below to see more related Dicas
Brazil’s First Gold Medal at the Olympics
Brazilians never give up
The Holy Hand of Brazil
Vocabulary for the Olympic Games in Portuguese
Sports in Portuguese
Equipments for Cycling in Portuguese
Artistic Gymnastics Equipments in Portuguese

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