Sara Moreira
Encyclopedia
Sara Moreira (born October 17, 1985) is a Portuguese
female long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and 5000 metres
. She reached finals at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007 and 2009. She represented Portugal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was the 5000 m bronze medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships.
, Portugal, Moreira's first international athletics competition was the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
, where she took the bronze medal
in the steeplechase. She attended the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
the following year and finished in thirteenth place in the final. The following year she took part in two major competitions: the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
where she finished 50th in the senior race, and then the 2008 Summer Olympics
later that year, where she failed to get past the heats of the steeplechase competition.
The 2009 saw Moreira take on an extensive competitive schedule. In March 2009, she won the silver medal
at the European Indoor Championships with a new personal best of 8:48.18 – her first senior medal. A sixteenth place finish at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
saw her help the Portuguese women to a team bronze, along with Ana Dulce Félix
. She scored a series of gold medal
s in July, starting with a 5000 metres
and steeplechase double at the 2009 Summer Universiade
(which included a Universiade record in the steeplechase), followed by another 5000 m gold at the 2009 Lusophony Games
. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
she missed out on the steeplechase final but managed to finish tenth in the women's 5000 m contest. Having competed extensively from March to August, Moreira's final competition of 2009 was the 2009 European Cross Country Championships
in December, where she finished tenth and won the team gold with Portugal.
Moreira started her 2010 campaign at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
in Doha
and she finished sixth in the final of the 3000 metres
, the second best European performer after Ethiopian-born Alemitu Bekele Degfa
, who competed for Turkey
. Later that month she ran at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
and finished in 27th place (the fifth best European performer). She took third place at the European Cup 10000m
in June 2010, making her debut over 10,000 metres, and also helped win the women's team title for Portugal with Inês Monteiro
and Fernanda Ribeiro
. She recorded a 3000 m personal best shortly after at the Gran Premio de Andalucía, where her time of 8:42.69 brought her third place behind Nuria Fernández
.
At the 2010 European Athletics Championships she secured a 5000 m bronze medal
, setting a personal best of 14:54.71, but dropped out of the 10,000 m mid-race. She was selected to run the 3000 m for Europe at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup
, but she finished in seventh place. A ninth place finish at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships
helped Portugal to the team gold medal
. She ended the year with a win at the São Silvestre da Amadora 10K race on New Year's Eve.
Her 2011 began with a third place finish at the European Cross Country Club Championships, hosted at the Cinque Mulini
, where her club, Maratona Clube de Portugal, came second in the women's team race. She came seventh over 1500 m at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
and was twentieth in the senior race at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
later that year. After fellow Portuguese Augusto dropped out of the European Cup 10000m
, she took on the favourite role and won the title, five seconds clear of Christelle Daunay
.
Doping charges
In 2011 Sara Moreira tested positive for the prohibited stimulant, methylhexaneamine. Sample B analysis also confirmed the finding and she has been suspended pending the outcome of her disciplinary hearing according to the IAAF rules.
Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...
female long-distance runner who specializes in the 3000 metres steeplechase and 5000 metres
5000 metres
The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
. She reached finals at the World Championships in Athletics in 2007 and 2009. She represented Portugal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics. She was the 5000 m bronze medallist at the 2010 European Athletics Championships.
Career
Born Sara Isabel Fonseca Moreira in Santo TirsoSanto Tirso
Santo Tirso is a city and municipality located in the north of Porto Metropolitan Area, Porto District, Portugal. In the region, the Ave Valley, there is a large center of textile industry....
, Portugal, Moreira's first international athletics competition was the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
2007 European Athletics U23 Championships
The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.- Men :- Women :-Medal table:-References:General*-External links:**...
, where she took the bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
in the steeplechase. She attended the 2007 World Championships in Athletics
2007 World Championships in Athletics
The 11th World Championships in Athletics, under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations , were held at Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan from 24 August to 2 September 2007...
the following year and finished in thirteenth place in the final. The following year she took part in two major competitions: the IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships
IAAF World Cross Country Championships is the most important competition in international cross country running. Held annually and organised by International Association of Athletics Federations , it was inaugurated in 1973, when it replaced the International Cross Country Championships...
where she finished 50th in the senior race, and then the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
later that year, where she failed to get past the heats of the steeplechase competition.
The 2009 saw Moreira take on an extensive competitive schedule. In March 2009, she won the silver medal
Silver medal
A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....
at the European Indoor Championships with a new personal best of 8:48.18 – her first senior medal. A sixteenth place finish at the 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Al Bisharat Golf Course at Amman, Jordan on 28 March 2009. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition...
saw her help the Portuguese women to a team bronze, along with Ana Dulce Félix
Ana Dulce Félix
Ana Dulce Félix is a long distance runner who competes in track, cross country, and road running events.Born in Azurém, Guimarães Municipality, Portugal, Félix began her career as a junior at the 2000 and 2001 IAAF World Cross Country Championships, although she did not break the top 60 runners on...
. She scored a series of gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
s in July, starting with a 5000 metres
5000 metres
The 5000 metres is a popular running distance also known as 5 km or 5K in American English. It is one of the track events in the Olympic Games and the World Championships in Athletics. "5000 metres" refers to racing on a track and "5K" usually refers to a roadrace or cross country event...
and steeplechase double at the 2009 Summer Universiade
2009 Summer Universiade
The 2009 Summer Universiade, officially known as the XXV Summer Universiade were celebrated in Belgrade, Serbia from 1 July to 12 July 2009. The event has also been organised by a range of co-host cities mostly in Vojvodina , close to Belgrade. It was the largest sporting event ever to be organised...
(which included a Universiade record in the steeplechase), followed by another 5000 m gold at the 2009 Lusophony Games
2009 Lusophony Games
The 2009 Lusophony Games was the 2nd Lusophony Games , a multi-sport event for delegations representing Portuguese-speaking National Olympic committees.It took place in Lisbon, Portugal, from 11 to 19 July 2009...
. At the 2009 World Championships in Athletics
2009 World Championships in Athletics
The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....
she missed out on the steeplechase final but managed to finish tenth in the women's 5000 m contest. Having competed extensively from March to August, Moreira's final competition of 2009 was the 2009 European Cross Country Championships
2009 European Cross Country Championships
The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time that a major European athletics championships took place in Ireland...
in December, where she finished tenth and won the team gold with Portugal.
Moreira started her 2010 campaign at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:...
in Doha
Doha
Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar...
and she finished sixth in the final of the 3000 metres
3000 metres
The 3000 metres is a popular amateur middle distance track event where 7.5 laps are completed around a 400 metre track. This event is generally classified as middle distance, but it could be classed as a long distance event in many high schools, since they do not promote races such as the 5000 and...
, the second best European performer after Ethiopian-born Alemitu Bekele Degfa
Alemitu Bekele Degfa
Alemitu Bekele is an Ethiopian-born Turkish long-distance runner who specializes in the 5000 metres.She was born in Shoa, Ethiopia. In the 5000 metres she finished seventh at the 2008 Olympic Games...
, who competed for Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
. Later that month she ran at the 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking...
and finished in 27th place (the fifth best European performer). She took third place at the European Cup 10000m
European Cup 10000m
The European Cup 10000m is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge after the event was removed from the European Cup programme...
in June 2010, making her debut over 10,000 metres, and also helped win the women's team title for Portugal with Inês Monteiro
Inês Monteiro
Inês Alexandra das Neves Monteiro is a Portuguese athlete who competes in middle and long distance track running, as well as road running and cross country. She started out as a cross country runner, winning a silver and a gold medal at the 1998 and 1999 European junior race...
and Fernanda Ribeiro
Fernanda Ribeiro
Maria Fernanda Moreira Ribeiro, GCIH , is a long-distance runner, born in Penafiel, Portugal. She achieved the top of her career in the 1996 Summer Olympics where she won the women's 10,000 m gold medal, giving Portugal their 3rd Olympic gold , and establishing a new Olympic record - 31:01.63.-...
. She recorded a 3000 m personal best shortly after at the Gran Premio de Andalucía, where her time of 8:42.69 brought her third place behind Nuria Fernández
Nuria Fernández
Nuria Fernández Domínguez is a Spanish middle distance runner. She specializes in the 1500 metres and is the Spanish record holder in the mile run and the 1500 m indoors....
.
At the 2010 European Athletics Championships she secured a 5000 m bronze medal
Bronze medal
A bronze medal is a medal awarded to the third place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, etc. The practice of awarding bronze third place medals began at the 1904 Olympic Games in St...
, setting a personal best of 14:54.71, but dropped out of the 10,000 m mid-race. She was selected to run the 3000 m for Europe at the 2010 IAAF Continental Cup
2010 IAAF Continental Cup
The 1st IAAF Continental Cup was an international track and field sporting event held under the auspices of the International Association of Athletics Federations. Originally scheduled as the 11th IAAF World Cup in Athletics, it was renamed in 2008 when the IAAF revamped the competition format...
, but she finished in seventh place. A ninth place finish at the 2010 European Cross Country Championships
2010 European Cross Country Championships
The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition held in Oeiras....
helped Portugal to the team gold medal
Gold medal
A gold medal is typically the medal awarded for highest achievement in a non-military field. Its name derives from the use of at least a fraction of gold in form of plating or alloying in its manufacture...
. She ended the year with a win at the São Silvestre da Amadora 10K race on New Year's Eve.
Her 2011 began with a third place finish at the European Cross Country Club Championships, hosted at the Cinque Mulini
Cinque Mulini
The Cinque Mulini is an annual cross country running race in San Vittore Olona, Italy. First held in 1933, the course is unusual in that it revolves around a number of water mills, which lend the competition its name – meaning Five Mills in Italian. It is one of the IAAF cross country permit...
, where her club, Maratona Clube de Portugal, came second in the women's team race. She came seventh over 1500 m at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships
The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...
and was twentieth in the senior race at the 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships
The 2011 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in Punta Umbría, Spain on 20 March 2011.-Preparation:The United States had expressed an interest in hosting the competition, but Punta Umbria was chosen as the host at the IAAF Council Meeting in November 2009...
later that year. After fellow Portuguese Augusto dropped out of the European Cup 10000m
European Cup 10000m
The European Cup 10000m is an annual 10,000 metres race for European athletes which was first held in 1997. The competition is organised by the European Athletics Association and first began as the European 10000 Metres Challenge after the event was removed from the European Cup programme...
, she took on the favourite role and won the title, five seconds clear of Christelle Daunay
Christelle Daunay
Christelle Daunay is a French long distance runner who specialises in road running. She is the current French marathon record holder. She represented France at the 2008 Summer Olympics and has competed a number of times in the IAAF World Half Marathon Championships...
.
Doping charges
In 2011 Sara Moreira tested positive for the prohibited stimulant, methylhexaneamine. Sample B analysis also confirmed the finding and she has been suspended pending the outcome of her disciplinary hearing according to the IAAF rules.
Achievements
| Representing | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2007 | European U23 Championships 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.- Men :- Women :-Medal table:-References:General*-External links:**... |
Debrecen Debrecen Debrecen , is the second largest city in Hungary after Budapest. Debrecen is the regional centre of the Northern Great Plain region and the seat of Hajdú-Bihar county.- Name :... , Hungary Hungary Hungary , officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in Central Europe. It is situated in the Carpathian Basin and is bordered by Slovakia to the north, Ukraine and Romania to the east, Serbia and Croatia to the south, Slovenia to the southwest and Austria to the west. The... |
3rd | 3000 m st. |
| World Championships 2007 World Championships in Athletics - Women's 3000 metres steeplechase The Women's 3,000 metres Steeplechase event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics took place on August 25, 2007 and August 27, 2007 at the Nagai Stadium in Osaka, Japan... |
Osaka, Japan | 13th | 3000 m st. | |
| 2008 | World Cross Country Championships 2008 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 36th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Holyrood Park at Edinburgh, Scotland on 30 March 2008. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition... |
Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area... , Scotland |
50th | Senior race |
| Olympic Games Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics Athletics at the 2008 Summer Olympics were held during the last 10 days of the games, from August 15 to August 24, 2008, at the Beijing National Stadium. The Olympic sport of athletics is split into four distinct sets of events: track and field events, road running events, and racewalking... |
Beijing Beijing Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's... , China |
10th (heats) | 3000 m st. | |
| 2009 | European Indoor Championships 2009 European Indoor Championships in Athletics The 30th European Athletics Indoor Championships was held in Turin, Italy, from Friday, 6 March to Sunday, 8 March 2009. The championships took place at the Oval Lingotto indoor arena which has a seating capacity of 6,600 people.... |
Turin Turin Turin is a city and major business and cultural centre in northern Italy, capital of the Piedmont region, located mainly on the left bank of the Po River and surrounded by the Alpine arch. The population of the city proper is 909,193 while the population of the urban area is estimated by Eurostat... , Italy Italy Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and... |
2nd | 3000 m |
| World Cross Country Championships 2009 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 37th IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held in the Al Bisharat Golf Course at Amman, Jordan on 28 March 2009. Four races took place, one for men, women, junior men and junior women respectively. All races encompassed both individual and team competition... |
Amman Amman Amman is the capital of Jordan. It is the country's political, cultural and commercial centre and one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world. The Greater Amman area has a population of 2,842,629 as of 2010. The population of Amman is expected to jump from 2.8 million to almost... , Jordan |
16th | Senior race | |
| 3rd | Team race | |||
| European Team Championships 2009 European Team Championships The first SPAR European Team Championships took place on 20 and 21 June 2009. The track and field athletics tournament run by European Athletics was the successor of the old European Cup competition which was held annually until 2008... |
Leiria Leiria Leiria is a city in Leiria Municipality in the Centro Region, Portugal. It is the capital of Leiria District. The city proper has 50,200 inhabitants and the entire municipality has nearly 120,000... , Portugal |
7th | 1500 m | |
| 4th | 3000 m st. | |||
| World Student Games Athletics at the 2009 Summer Universiade The athletics competition at the 2009 Summer Universiade was held at the Stadion Crvena Zvezda in Belgrade, Serbia from July 7 to July 12, 2009.-Men's events:In Long Jump, Kim Deok-Hyeon's record is not unofficial.... |
Belgrade Belgrade Belgrade is the capital and largest city of Serbia. It is located at the confluence of the Sava and Danube rivers, where the Pannonian Plain meets the Balkans. According to official results of Census 2011, the city has a population of 1,639,121. It is one of the 15 largest cities in Europe... , Serbia Serbia Serbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central and Southeast Europe, covering the southern part of the Carpathian basin and the central part of the Balkans... |
1st | 3000 m st | |
| 1st | 5000 m | |||
| Lusophony Games Athletics at the 2009 Lusophony Games The Athletics competition at the 2009 Lusophony Games was held in the Estádio Universitário de Lisboa on July 12, July 13 and July 19, 2009.-Men's:-Women's:-Medal table:... |
Lisbon Lisbon Lisbon is the capital city and largest city of Portugal with a population of 545,245 within its administrative limits on a land area of . The urban area of Lisbon extends beyond the administrative city limits with a population of 3 million on an area of , making it the 9th most populous urban... , Portugal |
1st | 5000 m | |
| World Championships in Athletics 2009 World Championships in Athletics The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate.... |
Berlin Berlin Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union... , Germany |
6th (heats) | 3000 m st. 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 3000 metres steeplechase The Women's 3,000 metres Steeplechase event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics was held at the Olympic Stadium on August 15 and August 17... |
|
| 10th | 5000 m 2009 World Championships in Athletics – Women's 5000 metres The women's 5000 metres at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics will be held at the Olympic Stadium on 19 and 22 August-Medalists:-Records:-Qualification standards:-Schedule:-Heats:... |
|||
| European Cross Country Championships 2009 European Cross Country Championships The 2009 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that was held on 13 December 2009 in Dublin, Ireland. Dublin was selected as the host city in 2007 and the event was the first time that a major European athletics championships took place in Ireland... |
Dublin, Ireland | 10th | Senior race | |
| 1st | Team race | |||
| 2010 | World Indoor Championships 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships The 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Athletics was held between 12 and 14 March at the ASPIRE Dome in Doha, Qatar. The championships was the first of six IAAF World Athletics Series events to take place in 2010.-Bidding and organisation:... |
Doha Doha Doha is the capital city of the state of Qatar. Located on the Persian Gulf, it had a population of 998,651 in 2008, and is also one of the municipalities of Qatar... , Qatar |
6th | 3000 m 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships – Women's 3000 metres The women's 3000 metres at the 2010 IAAF World Indoor Championships was held at the ASPIRE Dome on 12 and 13 March.-Medalists:-Records:-Qualification standards:-Schedule:-Heats:... |
| World Cross Country Championships 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships The 2010 IAAF World Cross Country Championships were held at Myślęcinek Park in Bydgoszcz, Poland on 28 March 2010. It was the first time in over twenty years that Poland hosted the annual championships, having previously held them in Warsaw in 1987. Kenyan runners dominated the competition, taking... |
Bydgoszcz, Poland | 27th | Senior race | |
| European Championships | Barcelona Barcelona Barcelona is the second largest city in Spain after Madrid, and the capital of Catalonia, with a population of 1,621,537 within its administrative limits on a land area of... , Spain |
3rd | 5000 m | |
| European Cross Country Championships 2010 European Cross Country Championships The 2010 European Cross Country Championships was a continental cross country running competition that took place on 12 December in Albufeira, Portugal. It was the second time that the country hosted the event, building upon the 1997 edition held in Oeiras.... |
Albufeira Albufeira Albufeira is a Portuguese municipality in the Faro District, Algarve region. Its name came from the Arabic: البحيرة . The city has a population of 13,646. The municipality has a population of 35,281 inhabitants and a total area of 140.6 km²... , Portugal |
9th | Senior race | |
| 1st | Team race | |||
| 2011 | European Indoor Championships 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the... |
Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France |
7th | 1500 m 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships – Women's 1500 metres The Women's 800 metres event at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships was held at March 4–6 with the final being held on March 6 at 16:00 local time. -Records:-Heat:... |