Vanessa Fernandes

Vanessa Fernandes is a Portuguese triathlete, born in 1985 and raised in Perosinho, Vila Nova de Gaia, who her father introduced to the sport at fourteen. She became European champion for five consecutive years from 2004 and world triathlon champion for the first time in 2007 in Hamburg, and she also won European and world titles in duathlon. In 2006 she topped the International Triathlon Union World Cup rankings and equalled Emma Carney's record run of consecutive World Cup wins. She competed at the Olympic Games in 2004, finishing eighth in Athens at eighteen, and won the silver medal in Beijing in 2008, her first Olympic medal. She has raced for S.L. Benfica since 2005.