In this Portuguese name, the first or maternal family name is Pires and the second or paternal family name is de Medeiros.
Etiene Pires de Medeiros (born 24 May 1991) is a Brazilian competitive swimmer who participates in backstroke and freestyle events.[1] Widely regarded as the best Brazilian woman swimmer of all time, Medeiros was the first Brazilian to win an individual gold medal in a World Championship (long and short course) and Pan American Games, and the first to be a world record-holder in the modern era (only Maria Lenk in 1939 had accomplished this feat)
She joined the national delegation which attended the 2011 World Aquatics Championships in Shanghai, China, winning the vacancy after the positive doping of Fabiola Molina. Etiene finished 43rd in the 100-metre backstroke with a time of 1:05.18.[6] She also swam the 50-metre backstroke, where she finished 25th[7] and in the 4×100-metre medley, where she finished 17th.[8]
At the 2011 Pan American Games, Etiene finished 10th in the 100-metre backstroke heats and did not go to the final.[9]
In January 2013, she moved to São Paulo and started work with Coach Fernando Vanzella in club SESI-SP.
In April 2013, she won the Maria Lenk Trophy in Brazil with a time of 27.88 seconds in the 50-metre backstroke, the best mark of her life and one of the best times of the year in the proof.[12]
At the 2014 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Gold Coast, Queensland, she finished 5th in the 4x100-metre freestyle relay, along with Graciele Herrmann, Daynara de Paula, and Alessandra Marchioro; 5th in the 4x100-metre medley relay, along with Graciele Herrmann, Ana Carla Carvalho and Daynara de Paula; 6th in the 50-metre freestyle; 7th in the 100-metre butterfly; and 11th in the 100-metre backstroke.[19]
On 3 September 2014, participating in the José Finkel Trophy (short course competition) in Guaratinguetá, Medeiros broke three South American records: in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 24.15, in the 50-metre backstroke with a time of 26.41, and in the 100-metre backstroke with a time of 57.53.[20]
On 7 December 2014, participating in the 2014 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Doha, Qatar, Medeiros broke the world record in the 50-metre backstroke with a time of 25.67.[21] Medeiros was the first woman in Brazil to get an individual medal in World Championships, and the first to win a gold medal. Medeiros won 3 medals in the competition: the gold in the Women's 50 metre backstroke, another gold in the 4 × 50 metre mixed medley relay (along with Felipe França, Nicholas Santos and Larissa Oliveira), and a bronze medal in the 4 × 50 metre mixed freestyle relay (along with Cesar Cielo, João de Lucca, and Larissa Oliveira). On 3 December, in the 4 × 50 metre mixed medley relay, Medeiros opened the final with a time of 25.83. Brazil won the race beating the South American record with a time of 1:37.26, only 0.09 seconds from beating USA's world record (1:37.17). On 6 December, in the 4 × 50 metre mixed freestyle relay, Brazil broke the South American record with a time of 1:29.17, only four hundredths slower than Russia, which won the silver medal. In the 50-metre backstroke, Medeiros broke the Americas' record in the semifinal with a time of 25.99 and the World record in the final with a time of 25.67. Medeiros also broke two times the South American record in the 100 metre backstroke, with a time of 57.36 at heats and 57.13 in the semifinals, finishing in 7th place in the final; and two times in Women's 4 × 50 metre medley relay, with a time of 1:47.20 at heats and 1:46.47 in the final, finishing in 5th place.[22][23]
At the Brazilian Open, in Rio de Janeiro, she broke the Americas' record in the 50-metre backstroke with a time of 27.37.[24] She also broke the South American record in the 50-metre freestyle, with a time of 24.74.[25]
On 13 September 2016, at the José Finkel Trophy (short course competition), she broke the South American record in the 50-metre freestyle with a time of 23.88.[48] She came close to beating the Americas record (23.82 of Dara Torres).
On 11 December 2016, participating in the 2016 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Windsor, Canada, Medeiros won the gold medal with a time of 25.82, to repeat as the 50m backstroke champion.[49] Etiene also obtained a silver medal in the 4x50 medley relay on 8 December. In addition to Etiene, the Brazilian team was formed by Felipe Lima, Nicholas Santos, and Larissa Oliveira. She also swam the 50m freestyle, qualifying for the semifinal with a time of 24.31, but gave up the race to focus on the others she was fighting. She also had real medal chances in this event: in September, she did a time of 23.88, which would give her the silver medal in this Worlds if repeated.
At the 2017 World Aquatics Championships in Budapest, in the Women's 50 metre backstroke, she broke two times the Americas record, with 27.18 in the semifinals, and 27.14 in the final, to obtain her first gold medal.[50][51] She was only eight-hundredths of a second off Zhao Jing's world record, obtained at the super-suits era. Medeiros became the first Brazilian woman to win a gold medal at a World Championships in long course. She also finished 21st in the Women's 50 metre freestyle.[52]