Yane Márcia Campos da Fonseca Marques (born January 7, 1984, in Afogados da Ingazeira) is a modern pentathlon athlete from Brazil. She became nationally known despite the obscurity of her sport in the country after winning a bronze medal at the 2012 Summer Olympics, the first Latin American to medal and the only woman to do so.

Yane Marques
Marques with her bronze medal, at the 2012 Summer Olympics
Personal information
Birth nameYane Márcia Campos da Fonseca Marques
NationalityBrazilian
Born (1984-01-07) January 7, 1984 (age 40)
Afogados da Ingazeira, Pernambuco, Brazil[1]
Height1.66 m (5 ft 5+12 in)
Weight51 kg (112 lb)
Sport
Country Brazil
SportModern Pentathlon
Medal record
Olympic Games
Bronze medal – third place 2012 London Individual
World Championships
Silver medal – second place 2013 Kaohsiung Individual
Bronze medal – third place 2015 Berlin Individual
World Cup Final
Silver medal – second place 2009 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Bronze medal – third place 2012 Chengdu Individual
Pan American Games
Gold medal – first place 2007 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Gold medal – first place 2015 Toronto Individual
Silver medal – second place 2011 Guadalajara Individual
Pan American Sports Festival
Gold medal – first place 2014 Mexico City Individual
South American Games
Gold medal – first place 2014 Santiago Individual
Military World Games
Gold medal – first place 2011 Rio de Janeiro Relay
Silver medal – second place 2011 Rio de Janeiro Individual
Silver medal – second place 2015 Mungyeong Mixed relay
Bronze medal – third place 2011 Rio de Janeiro Mixed relay

Biography edit

Hailing from the Sertão of the Brazilian state of Pernambuco, Marques moved to the state capital Recife at the age of 11 so her older siblings could attend college. One year later, she became a swimmer for Clube Náutico Capibaribe, where she competed alongside future Olympian Joanna Maranhão. Marques change of sport occurred in 2003, when she was invited to a biathle competition held by Pernambuco's recently inaugurated modern pentathlon federation, part of the then-new Brazilian confederation's plan to spread the sport. Marques won, and was invited by confederation founder Alexandre França to become a pentathlete. Just one year after changing to modern pentathlon, with França as part of her coaching staff, Marques was Brazilian and South American champion.[2][3]

The gold medal in the 2007 Pan American Games, held in Rio de Janeiro, qualified Marques for her Olympian debut at the 2008 Summer Olympics, where she finished 18th overall.[4] The following year, Marques joined the Brazilian Army to gain the scholarship and training facilities reserved for military sportspeople.[2] Marques wound up topping the Brazilian pentathlon rankings in 2010, and became 3rd in the world in 2011, where she was a silver medalist at the Pan American Games and three medals at the Military World Games.[3][5]

Arriving at the 2012 Summer Olympics with medal expectations, Marques started with a 6th place in fencing, jumped to second following swimming and kept the position following the show jumping. The combined running/shooting closer had Marques win the bronze, Brazil's final medal in those Olympics.[6] Following the Games, Marques rose to 2nd in the world rankings, preceded only by gold medallist Laura Asadauskaitė of Lithuania.[1]

 
Yane Marques carrying the Brazilian flag at the 2016 Parade of Nations.

Marques was chosen through popular vote to be the flagbearer of Brazil for the opening ceremony of the 2016 Summer Olympics, which the country would host in Rio de Janeiro. She was only the second woman to hold the honor following Sandra Pires.[3] With bad results in the fencing, Yane finished at 23rd in the modern pentathlon. Despite that, she expressed no regrets in the results, particularly as Marques' pentathlon performances helped spread her sport.[7]

Marques holds a degree at physical education at Recife's UNINASSAU.[8] She is married to a fellow pentathlete, Aloísio Sandes.[9]

References edit

  1. ^ a b Yane Marques. sports-reference.com
  2. ^ a b Bessel, Lucas (May 2012). "PolYane" (PDF). IstoÉ 2016. Retrieved July 19, 2015.
  3. ^ a b c A Woman Worth her Weight in Gold: The Story of Sergeant Yane Marques
  4. ^ Pentatlo Moderno: Yane Marques
  5. ^ Júlio Delmanto (August 18, 2011) Animada com 3ª posição no ranking mundial, Yane Marques espera nova medalha no Pan. uol.com.br (in Portuguese)
  6. ^ Yane Marques conquista medalha olímpica de bronze inédita para o Brasil no pentatlo moderno. uol.com.br. August 12, 2012 (in Portuguese)
  7. ^ "Desempenho de Yane Marques despencou por causa de esgrima". August 20, 2016.
  8. ^ "JC Recall de Marcas 2013". especiais.jconline.ne10.uol.com.br. Archived from the original on September 22, 2016.
  9. ^ "Favorita ao pódio no Rio, Yane tem dilema para resolver após a Olimpíada - 19/07/2015 - Esporte".
Olympic Games
Preceded by Flagbearer for   Brazil
Rio de Janeiro 2016
Succeeded by