Nádia Cruz

Nádia Vanda Sousa Eloy Cruz (born 12 July 1975) is an Angolan former swimmer, who specialized in breaststroke events.[1] She represented Angola in all four editions of the Olympic Games since 1988, and later became the chairman of the Angolan Olympic Athletes Association (AAOA) in 2010.[2]

Nádia Cruz
Personal information
Full nameNádia Vanda Sousa Eloy Cruz
National teamAngola
Born (1975-07-12) 12 July 1975
Luanda, Angola
Height1.59 m (5 ft 3 in)
Weight50 kg (110 lb)
Sport
SportSwimming
StrokesBreaststroke

Career

Cruz made her first ever Angolan team, as a 13-year-old teen, at the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul.[3] She failed to reach the top 16 final in the 100 m breaststroke, finishing in forty-second place at 1:24.46.[4]

Cruz also competed in the same stroke at the 1992 Summer Olympics in Barcelona, this time she swam in a time of 1:21.50 and finished in forty-first place beating Elke Talma from the Seychelles and Nguyễn Thị Phương from Vietnam who was disqualified.[5]

Four years later at the 1996 Summer Olympics in Atlanta, she competed in the 100 metres breaststroke which she swam in 1:16.62 and finished 43rd out of 46 swimmers,[6] she also swam in the 200 metres breaststroke and she finished 37th out of 40 starters.[7]

Twelve years after competing in her first Olympics, Cruz qualified for her fourth Angolan team in the women's 100 m breaststroke, as a 25-year-old, at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney. Because of her remarkable record and legacy, she became the nation's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[3] She also received a ticket from FINA, under an Olympic Solidarity and Universality program, in an entry time of 1:14.00.[8] She challenged seven other swimmers in heat two, including Bolivia's 26-year-old Katerine Moreno, who also competed with her in their Olympic debut back in 1988. Coming from last at the initial turn, she held off a sprint challenge from Papua New Guinea's Xenia Peni on the final stretch to pick up a seventh seed in a time of 1:19.57. Cruz failed to advance into the semifinals, as she placed thirty-eighth overall in the prelims.[9][10]

References
  1. Evans, Hilary; Gjerde, Arild; Heijmans, Jeroen; Mallon, Bill; et al. "Nádia Cruz". Olympics at Sports-Reference.com. Sports Reference LLC. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  2. "Nádia Cruz at African Olympic athletes meeting in Johannesburg". ANGOP. 16 March 2010. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  3. Sexton, Mike (16 March 2000). "Living the Olympic dream". ABC News Australia. Retrieved 19 June 2013.
  4. "Seoul 1988: Aquatics (Swimming) – Women's 100m Breaststroke Heat 1" (PDF). Seoul 1988. LA84 Foundation. p. 424. Retrieved 25 May 2013.
  5. "1992 100m breaststroke round 1". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  6. "1996 Olympics Women's 100m Breaststroke". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  7. "1996 Olympics Women's 200m Breaststroke Result". sports-reference.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2020. Retrieved 5 November 2016.
  8. "Swimming – Women's 100m Breaststroke Startlist (Heat 2)" (PDF). Sydney 2000. Omega Timing. Retrieved 14 June 2013.
  9. "Sydney 2000: Swimming – Women's 100m Breaststroke Heat 2" (PDF). Sydney 2000. LA84 Foundation. p. 258. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
  10. "Dolan breaks own world mark in 400 IM". Canoe.ca. 17 September 2000. Retrieved 28 May 2013.
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