Thiago Braz

Thiago Braz da Silva (born 16 December 1993) is a Brazilian athlete specializing in the pole vault who holds the Olympic record of 6.03 metres. He won the gold medal at the 2016 Summer Olympics and the bronze medal at the 2020 Summer Olympics.

Thiago Braz
Personal information
Born (1993-12-16) 16 December 1993
Marília, São Paulo, Brazil
Height1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight75 kg (165 lb)
Sport
CountryBrazil
SportAthletics
Event(s)Pole vault
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)
  • Pole vault: 6.03 m (2016)
Medal record
Men’s athletics
Representing  Brazil
Olympic Games
Gold medal – first place2016 Rio de JaneiroPole vault
Bronze medal – third place2020 TokyoPole vault
World Indoor Championships
Silver medal – second place2022 BelgradePole vault
Youth Olympics
Silver medal – second place2010 SingaporePole vault
World Junior Championships
Gold medal – first place2012 BarcelonaPole vault

Career

In 2012, he won the gold medal at the World Junior Championships.

In 2013, he became the South American champion with a new outdoor area record of 5.83 metres. On 24 June 2015, he set a new record of 5.92 metres in Baku, Azerbaijan.[1]

On 13 February 2016, he extended the South American indoor record to 5.93 metres in Berlin, Germany.[2]

On 15 August 2016, at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Thiago Braz da Silva won the gold medal in men's pole vault by beating French pole-vaulter Renaud Lavillenie, the incumbent world record holder and gold medalist in London Olympic Games. In the final, Lavillenie and Braz were the only two athletes to achieve the high of 5.93m, and consequently, they were the only two left to dispute the gold medal. Lavillenie easily cleared the next height, 5.98m, with his first attempt, but da Silva decided to skip 5.98m (as clearing that height would still have left him in silver-medal position on countback) and went on to 6.03m. With a successful second attempt at 6.03m, da Silva set a new Olympic Record. Lavillenie, having failed his first two attempts at 6.03m, attempted 6.08 with his final jump but failed. Thiago Braz da Silva won the gold medal with an Olympic record and surpassed his personal best performance by 10 cm. He was just 1 cm away from matching Brad Walker's Americas record of 6.04 m.

After an Olympic cycle much lower than expected, without medals in World Championships and even in Pan American Games between 2016 and 2020, Braz participated in the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo again without being the favorite, but at the same time, with everyone knowing the possibilities for the Brazilian to win a medal again. At heats, he qualified easily, missing two jumps, but reached the 5.75 mark without needing the third and final attempt at any mark. In the final, he missed an attempt at the 5.70 and 5.80 marks but managed to pass the second time; when he reached 5.87, a mark not so easy to overtake, he beat it on the first attempt, which became crucial to reach the bronze medal. At this point in the race, Renaud Lavillenie, who competed with both feet injured, still had a chance to overtake Braz and gave up from 5.87, passing the bar to 5.92; however, he failed in his attempts and was left without a medal. This ensured Braz on the podium, as only he, the Swede Armand Duplantis, who was the world record holder and favorite for gold, and the American Chris Nilsen, who surprisingly reached 5.97 getting the silver, remained in the race. Braz missed three attempts in the 5.92 and ended up with the bronze. Duplantis easily managed 6.02 and could have tried to break Thiago Braz's Olympic record of 6.03; however, he changed the attempt to 6.19 to beat his own world record of 6.18 but failed. Braz finished with his second consecutive Olympic medal, a very rare feat in Brazilian athletics.[3][4]

At the 2022 World Athletics Indoor Championships in Belgrade, Serbia, Braz got his first medal in the World Championships, a silver obtained with a jump of 5.95, a new indoor South American record. The gold went to the Swedish Duplantis, who broke the world record there with 6.20. [5]

At the 2022 World Athletics Championships, Braz obtained the best position in the history of Brazil in the World Championships in the pole vault, finishing in 4th place with a jump of 5.87.[6]

In 2023, Braz tested positive for ostarine and was provisionally suspended by the AIU. He faces up to a 4-year ban. [7]

Personal bests

  • Pole vault (outdoor): 6.03 mRio de Janeiro, Brazil, 15 Aug 2016
  • Pole vault (indoor): 5.95 mBelgrade, Serbia, 20 March 2022

Competition record

YearCompetitionVenuePositionResult
Representing  Brazil
2009 South American Junior Championships São Paulo, Brazil 3rd 4.40 m
2010 Youth Olympic Games Singapore 2nd 5.05 m
South American Youth Championships Santiago, Chile 1st 5.10 m
2011 Pan American Junior Championships Miramar, United States 1st 5.20 m
South American Junior Championships Medellín, Colombia 2nd 4.85 m
2012 World Junior Championships Barcelona, Spain 1st 5.55 m
2013 South American Championships Cartagena, Colombia 1st 5.83 m
World Championships Moscow, Russia 14th (q) 5.40 m
2014 World Indoor Championships Sopot, Poland 4th 5.75 m
South American Games Santiago, Chile NM
2015 Pan American Games Toronto, Canada NM
World Championships Beijing, China 19th (q) 5.65 m
2016 World Indoor Championships Portland, United States 12th 5.55 m
Olympic Games Rio de Janeiro, Brazil 1st 6.03 m Olympic record AR
2018 World Indoor Championships Birmingham, United Kingdom 12th 5.60 m
2019 South American Championships Lima, Peru 2nd 5.41 m
Pan American Games Lima, Peru 4th 5.51 m
World Championships Doha, Qatar 5th 5.70 m
2021 Olympic Games Tokyo, Japan 3rd 5.87 m
2022 World Indoor Championships Belgrade, Serbia 2nd 5.95 m iAR
World Championships Eugene, United States 4th 5.87 m

iAR = indoor Area Record

References

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