Porto Alegre (Brazil), 1983
By Pablo Alabarces
Brazilian gymnast Daiane Garcia dos Santos began her career at thirteen, when she was discovered by a coach while playing in a park in Porto Alegre. In 1998, she won her first gold medal at a tournament in Canberra, Australia. The following year, at the Pan American Games in Winnipeg, Canada, she won three medals, including a silver in the vault competition. Daiane’s best year was 2003, when she won the gold medal at the World Championship held in Anaheim, United States, in floor exercises, with a routine called “double-twisting somersault,” which was later named “Dos Santos” by the International Federation of Gymnastics. This gold medal was the first in Brazilian gymnastics history. At the World Cup in Stuttgart, Germany, Daiane again amazed the world with an even more difficult routine, the “double-twisting laid-out somersault.” In 2003, she was named Athlete of the Year. Throughout her career, she won 110 medals and 18 trophies.
Content updated on 19/05/2017 at 10:38.