Michelle Lenhardt (born May 27, 1980 in

Porto Alegre Porto Alegre (, ; , ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Brazilian Federative units of Brazil, state of Rio Grande do Sul. Its population of roughly 1.4 million inhabitants (2022) makes it the List of largest cities in Brazil, 11th-most p ...

) is a Brazilian swimmer and bodybuilder, who specialized in freestyle events. Graduated at

Pontifícia Universidade Católica do Rio Grande do Sul The Pontifical Catholic University of Rio Grande do Sul (, PUCRS) is a private non-profit Catholic university. With campuses in the Brazilian cities of Porto Alegre and Viamão, it is the largest private university of the state of Rio Grande do Su ...

with a degree in

advertising Advertising is the practice and techniques employed to bring attention to a Product (business), product or Service (economics), service. Advertising aims to present a product or service in terms of utility, advantages, and qualities of int ...

, Lenhardt moved in 2004 to

Santos Santos may refer to: People *Santos (surname) * Santos Balmori Picazo (1899–1992), Spanish-Mexican painter * Santos Benavides (1823–1891), Confederate general in the American Civil War Places *Santos, São Paulo, a municipality in São Paulo ...

city, where she began training in order to participate of the Olympics. Nicknamed ''Mischa'' by friends, she was removed from the Brazilian team

2007 Pan American Games The 2007 Pan American Games, officially known as the XV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Rio 2007, were a major Americas, continental multi-sport event that took place in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, from July 13 to 29, 2007. A total of ...

due to the federation's error that signed three athletes to compete in the relay instead of allowed two. However, she got the vacancy to

2008 Summer Olympics The 2008 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXIX Olympiad () and officially branded as Beijing 2008 (), were an international multisport event held from 8 to 24 August 2008, in Beijing, China. A total of 10,942 athletes fro ...

Beijing Beijing, Chinese postal romanization, previously romanized as Peking, is the capital city of China. With more than 22 million residents, it is the world's List of national capitals by population, most populous national capital city as well as ...

thanks to Rebeca Gusmao having been cut, after she was ordered a doping suspension, becoming the first

Rio Grande do Sul Rio Grande do Sul (, ; ; "Great River of the South") is a Federative units of Brazil, state in the South Region, Brazil, southern region of Brazil. It is the Federative units of Brazil#List, fifth-most populous state and the List of Brazilian s ...

's female swimmer to compete at the Olympics. Lenhardt represented

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

at the

, where she competed for the women's 4×100-metre freestyle relay, along with her fellow swimmers Flávia Cazziolato, Tatiana Barbosa, and

Monique Ferreira Monique Andrade Ferreira (born 29 June 1980 in Rio de Janeiro) is a freestyle swimmer from Brazil. A member of Santos. International career She represented her native country at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece, and 2008 Summer Olympi ...

. She swam on the third leg, with an individual-split time of 55.90 seconds, finishing last in the first heat and thirteenth overall to her team, for a total time of 3:42.85. She broke the South American record of the 4 × 100 m free. On 6 September 2009, she broke again the South American record of the 4×100-metre freestyle, with a time of 3:41.49, along with

Tatiana Lemos Tatiana Martine Lemos de Lima Barbosa (born December 10, 1978) is a freestyle swimming, freestyle swimmer from Brazil. In her career, she represented Minas Brasília, COPM de Brasília, Iate Clube de Brasília, AABB de Brasília, Clube do Exérc ...

and Julyana Kury At the

2010 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 10th FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates from 15–19 December 2010. This swimming-only championships took place in the Dubai Sports Complex; all events were swum in a 25-meter ( short-course) ...

, in

Dubai Dubai (Help:IPA/English, /duːˈbaɪ/ Help:Pronunciation respelling key, ''doo-BYE''; Modern Standard Arabic, Modern Standard Arabic: ; Emirati Arabic, Emirati Arabic: , Romanization of Arabic, romanized: Help:IPA/English, /diˈbej/) is the Lis ...

, she was at the 4×100-metre freestyle final, finishing in 8th place. In this relay, she broke the short-course South American record, with a time of 3:35.95, along with

, Flavia Delaroli and Julyana Kury She also got the 26th place in the 50-metre freestyle. At the

2011 World Aquatics Championships The 14th FINA World Aquatics Championships, FINA World Championships () were held on 16–31 July 2011 in Shanghai, Shanghai, China at the Shanghai Oriental Sports Center. The 2011 World Championships featured five aquatics disciplines: swimming ...

Shanghai Shanghai, Shanghainese: , Standard Chinese pronunciation: is a direct-administered municipality and the most populous urban area in China. The city is located on the Chinese shoreline on the southern estuary of the Yangtze River, with the ...

, obtained the 13th place in the 4×100-metre freestyle. She won

's fourth silver medal for the 4×100-metre freestyle relay team at the

2011 Pan American Games The 2011 Pan American Games, officially the XVI Pan American Games () and commonly known as Guadalajara 2011, were an international multi-sport event held from October 14–30, 2011, in Guadalajara, Mexico. Some events were held in the nearby c ...

Guadalajara, Mexico Guadalajara ( ; ) is the capital and the most populous city in the western Mexican List of states of Mexico, state of Jalisco, as well as the most densely populated municipality in Jalisco. According to the 2020 census, the city has a population ...

Personal life

Lenhardt married fellow Brazilian swimmer

Bruno Fratus Bruno Giuseppe Fratus (born 30 June 1989) is a Brazilian former competitive swimmer. He won a bronze medal in the 50-metre freestyle at the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo. In July 2021, Fratus became the first swimmer in history to swim the long ...

in 2014 and now serves as one of his coaches.

References

External links

Profile – UOL Esporte

{{DEFAULTSORT:Lenhardt, Michelle 1980 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Brazil Swimmers at the 2008 Summer Olympics Swimmers at the 2011 Pan American Games Brazilian female freestyle swimmers Brazilian people of German descent Sportspeople from Porto Alegre Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games swimmers for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists in swimming South American Games gold medalists for Brazil South American Games bronze medalists for Brazil South American Games medalists in swimming Competitors at the 2006 South American Games Medalists at the 2011 Pan American Games 21st-century Brazilian sportswomen