Rafael Motta Bacêllo Mósca (born 13 May 1982, in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

) is a freestyle

swimmer Swimming is an individual or team racing sport that requires the use of one's entire body to move through water. The sport takes place in pools or open water (e.g., in a sea or lake). Competitive swimming is one of the most popular Olympic ...

from

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 ...

. Trying to prevent some respiratory problem, Mósca began to practice swimming. His mother enrolled him in a swim school at two years of age. At 11, a disease in kidney removed him from swimming pools, for a year and a half. Recovered, returned to swim at

Flamengo Clube de Regatas do Flamengo (; ), more commonly referred to as simply Flamengo, is a Brazilian multi sports club based in Rio de Janeiro, in the neighborhood of Gávea. It was founded and named after the Flamengo, Rio de Janeiro, Flamengo n ...

. The first good results of Rafael appeared, and he began to consider the possibility of a career as a professional athlete. At 19 years old, he broke the 10-year hegemony of

Gustavo Borges Gustavo França Borges (born 2 December 1972) is a Brazilian former competitive swimming (sport), swimmer. He swam for Brazil in four Summer Olympic Games: Brazil at the 1992 Summer Olympics, 1992, Brazil at the 1996 Summer Olympics, 1996, Braz ...

in the 200-metre freestyle, at the 2002 Jose Finkel Trophy (Brazilian Short Course Championship). Gustavo won the gold medal since 1992. Mósca swam at the

2002 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships The ninth edition of the Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, a long course (50 m) event, was held in 2002 in Yokohama International Swimming Pool in Yokohama, Japan, from August 24–29. One world record A world record is usually t ...

, where he finished 4th in the 4×100-metre freestyle, 5th in the 4×200-metre freestyle, and 14th in the 200-metre freestyle. At the

2003 World Aquatics Championships The 10th FINA World Aquatics Championships were held July 12–27, 2003 in Barcelona, Spain. The championships featured competition in all 5 of FINA's disciplines: Swimming, Diving, Synchronised swimming, Water Polo, and Open Water Swimming. ...

, in

Barcelona Barcelona ( ; ; ) is a city on the northeastern coast of Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second-most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within c ...

, Mósca finished 33rd in the 200-metre freestyle and 9th in the 4×200-metre freestyle. He won the silver medal with the men's relay team in the 4×200-metre freestyle at the

2003 Pan American Games The 2003 Pan American Games, officially the XIV Pan American Games () and commonly known as Santo Domingo 2003, were held in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic, from August 1 to 17, 2003. The successful bid for the Games was made in the mid-1990 ...

Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic Santo Domingo, formerly known as Santo Domingo de Guzmán, is the capital and largest city of the Dominican Republic and the List of metropolitan areas in the Caribbean, largest metropolitan area in the Caribbean by population. the Distrito Na ...

. His winning teammates were Carlos Jayme,

, and Rodrigo Castro. He also finished 7th in the 200-metre freestyle. Mósca also represented his native country at the

2004 Summer Olympics The 2004 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XXVIII Olympiad (), and officially branded as Athens 2004 (), were an international multi-sport event held from 13 to 29 August 2004 in Athens, Greece. The Games saw 10,625 athletes ...

Athens, Greece Athens ( ) is the Capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. A significant coastal urban area in the Mediterranean, Athens is also the capital of the Attica (region), Attica region and is the southe ...

. In which he achieved 9th place also with the men's relay team in the 4×200-metre freestyle, now with Bruno Bonfim, Carlos Jayme and Rodrigo Castro. At this race, he broke the South American record, with a time of 7:22.70. At the

2004 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) The 7th FINA Short Course World Championships were held at the Conseco Fieldhouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, United States from October 7 through October 11, 2004. This was the only edition of the Short Course World Championships that Michael Phel ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

, Mósca won the bronze medal in the 4×200-metre freestyle, along with Rodrigo Castro,

Thiago Pereira Thiago Machado Vilela Pereira (born 26 January 1986) is a retired Brazilian international competition swimming (sport), swimmer. One of the greatest swimmers in the history of Brazil, Pereira won the silver medal in the 400-meter medley swimmi ...

and Lucas Salatta, beating the South American record, with a time of 7:06.64. He also finished 19th in the 200-metre freestyle.

References

Folha Online

UOL profile

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Mosca, Rafael 1982 births Living people Olympic swimmers for Brazil Swimmers at the 2003 Pan American Games Swimmers at the 2004 Summer Olympics Brazilian male freestyle swimmers Medalists at the FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) Pan American Games silver medalists for Brazil Pan American Games swimmers for Brazil Pan American Games silver medalists in swimming Medalists at the 2003 Pan American Games Swimmers from Rio de Janeiro (city) 21st-century Brazilian sportsmen