2nd place at the South American Championship!!

Consolidating the good phase, yesterday I got the silver medal on the South American Championship, held in Santiago, Chile.

The race was perfect! Which does not mean comfort. I believe that the unpredictability adds much more value on any race!!

I swam pretty well, but did not positioned myself well on the pack, I rode badly, even though this was my highlights, I ran more consistently but switched several positions!

On the whole race I went through ups and downs and while sometimes I thought I could win, on some moments I thought I would not reach the top 10!

The goal was to get a top 3 on the South American Champioship, where I got 2nd!!
Yet on the Panamerican Cup, I got 3rd, while a Mexican athlete arrived a position in front of me.

Not being supported by the Brazilian Confederation, this race ends my Olympic distance period.

And here I go!! Its time to kick off the long distance season!
The debut in the longer distances is already scheduled and takes place on March 31th, in Oceanside, CA.

One of the Best Races of My Life!

On Sunday I again raced one of the more traditional Brazilian races, SESC Triathlon in Caiobá, where I made my debut in triathlon in 1998.

I did not have a good start and the group engulfed me when I entered the water. After swimming a short time, I got hit by so many arms and legs, that one punch took my googles off. I was decided to swim the whole distance without them until I noticed they were still on the top of my head, so I switched to backstroke to allow me to put the lenses back on!

The Gap

From that point in the race, I pursued the athletes ahead of me, and I was definitively in the first pack right after a few meters that we jumped in the water for the second half.

We were six, and we started the cycling really strong, alternating positions to take advantage of drafting so that we were able to go 25 mph for the full 25 miles, without making as much effort.

I started the run quickly and initially led. I saw very close the possibility of a win until Sclebin flew past me at 6km.

Using the strength from the enthusiasm of my hometown Paraná crowd, I tried to recover the lead. Their encouragement was great, and I tried really hard, but was not enough to overtake Diogo. He won the race and I finished right behind celebrating with many fans and friends!!

I was overjoyed with second place, this race is a special one in every season.

Clicking on the names below, you can see the great Brazilian press coverage!!

Globo Esporte 06/03/2012

TV Gazeta 05/03/2012

globoesporte.com 05/03/2012

Jornal Gazeta do Povo 05/03/2012

I used pictures from Mundo Tri and Woom