Rio-born Evelyn Carolina Oliveira dos Santos has gone through many difficulties to discover, in 2011, that she needed to undergo surgery for a herniated disc. In fact, her career can be divided into “before” and “after” the operation. This year, without the constant interruptions in training for treatment, she achieved the best results of her career.
Convened to compete in the 4×100 m, she will also participate in the preliminary 200m on Oct. 6 in Brasília as well as the current 2012 Olympics in London. Possessing a degree in Social Communication, Evelyn was invited to the Olympics for the second time having already gone to Beijing in 2008.
Speed is in the blood of this athlete who was born on April 11, 1985, in Rio de Janeiro. She is the daughter of Nelson and Sheila Rocha dos Santos de Oliveira, who shone on the track in the 1970s and 1980s. Nelson was a finalist in the 4x100m in Moscow 1980 and Los Angeles in 1984.
Evelyn is coached by her cousin Gustavo Gomes dos Santos, and counts among the names of athletes that she admires after her parents, the Jamaicans Usain Bolt and Asafa Powell.
Although Evelyn failed in her attempt to qualify for the finals of the 200m race on Tuesday, her time of 22s82, was the best of her career and left the athlete satisfied.
Evelyn was recently eliminated from the 2012 London individual Olympic competition.
She finished in 15th place but posted the best time of her career
“I’m happy for too many things. Today I wanted to make the best mark of my life. I knew it would be very difficult, but I’m happy with my result”, said the athlete.
In a field dominated by American and Jamaican favorites such as Sanya Richards-Ross, Allyson Felix, Veronica Campbell-Brown, Shelly-Ann Fraser-Price and Carmelita Jeter, dos Santos faced the world’s best, a group that did not disappoint (see results below).
Dos Santos’ best score had been 23s08 in a competition held in São Paulo in June of 2008. Despite her elimination, Evelyn remained in London to compete in the women’s 4×100 relay race event on Thursday, August 7th.
1) Sanya Richards-Ross (USA) 22s30
2) Allyson Felix (USA) 22s31
3) Veronica Campbell-Brown (Jamaica): 22s32
4) Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce (Jamaica): 22s34
5) Carmelita Jeter (USA): 22s39
6) Murielle Ahoure (Ivory Coast): 22s49
7) Semoy Hackett (Trinidad): 22s55
8) Myriam Soumare (France): 22s56
15) Evelyn dos Santos (Brasil): 22s82
Personal data:
Complete name: Evelyn Carolina Oliveira dos Santos
Date and city of birth: 4/11/1985, Rio do Janeiro (RJ)
Events: 200m and 4×100 m relays
City where she trains: Rio de Janeiro
Club: Futuro Olímpico Arnaldo de Oliveira
Coach: Gustavo dos Santos Gomes
Source: Atletismo no Pódio, Meio Norte, Globo Esporte
Leave a Reply