| Naide Gomes | |
| Honorific Suffix: | OIH |
| Fullname: | Enezaide do Rosário da Vera Cruz Gomes |
| Nationality: | Portugal (since 2001) |
| Birth Date: | 20 November 1979 |
| Birth Place: | São Tomé and Príncipe |
| Sport: | Athletics |
| Club: | Sporting CP |
| Turnedpro: | 18 July 1998 |
| Coach: | Abreu Matos |
| Retired: | 26 March 2015 |
| Show-Medals: | no |
Enezaide do Rosário da Vera Cruz Gomes (born 20 November 1979) is a Portuguese retired athlete who competed primarily in long jump. Born in São Tomé and Príncipe, she moved to Lisbon when she was 11 and began formally practising athletics when she was 13. She initially competed at international events as a representative of São Tomé and Príncipe before becoming a naturalised citizen of Portugal in 2001. Prior to changing her nationality, she set a São Toméan national record in every type of event she competed in at the international level, including women's 100 metres hurdles, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw, pentathlon, and heptathlon. She also holds the Portuguese national records in women's long jump (both outdoor and indoor), high jump, pentathlon, and heptathlon. At the club level, she represented Sporting CP and was coached by Abreu Matos.
Enezaide do Rosário da Vera Cruz Gomes was born on 20 November 1979 in São Tomé and Príncipe.[1] [2] She grew up in the capital São Tomé with her family, which she later described as having been, during her childhood, "[not] wealthy... but never lack[ing] anything either."[2] When Gomes was five, her mother moved to Lisbon, Portugal, due to health problems. She consequently lived with her grandmother for a few years before joining her mother in Lisbon when she was 11.[2] She adapted well to life in Lisbon, as her family already spoke Portuguese natively, and her grandfather was from Portugal.[2] She later said that she "had quite a good education in São Tomé", which was "quite strict" in comparison to her education in Lisbon.[2]
Gomes began formally practising athletics at the age of 13 but quickly stopped, believing her training to be interfering with her studies. However, about a year later, while living in the parish of Fernão Ferro, across the Tagus Estuary from Lisbon, a physical education teacher convinced Gomes of her talent and encouraged her to resume training.[2] When she was 17, she joined Sporting CP and met Abreu Matos, who would become her longtime coach. According to Gomes, by that time she "was among the best heptathletes and high jumpers in Portugal", and had begun to seriously consider becoming a Portuguese citizen.[2]
Gomes began competing internationally as a representative of her birth country São Tomé and Príncipe. Her first competition was the 1998 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, held in Lisbon from 17 to 19 July, in which she placed sixth in the high jump event with a distance of 1.75 metres.[3] At the 1999 All-Africa Games in Johannesburg, South Africa, she finished fifth in the women's heptathlon event with a score of 4974 points.[4] She improved her standing at the 2000 Ibero-American Championships, winning her first silver medal in the women's heptathlon event with a score of 5463 points. Gomes made her Olympic debut at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, Australia, and was given the honour of being São Tomé and Príncipe's flag bearer in the opening ceremony.[5] She competed in the women's 100 metres hurdles event and was assigned to lane seven of heat six for the first round. She finished last in her heat at eighth place, with a time of 14.43 seconds, and was eliminated from the competition.[6]
After a lengthy naturalisation process, Gomes was granted Portuguese citizenship by the Ministry of Internal Administration on 4 May 2001.[7] She made her international debut as a Portuguese athlete the following year, at the 2002 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Vienna, Austria. She won silver in the women's pentathlon event with a score of 4759 points.[8] At the 2002 European Athletics Championships, she competed in the women's long jump and heptathlon events. She placed tenth in the long jump event with a best distance of 6.23 metres, and eighteenth in the heptathlon with a score of 5142 points. She was unable to complete the 800 metre race in the heptathlon event.[9]
Gomes participated in three international competitions in 2003. She competed in that year's IAAF World Indoor Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom, in the women's pentathlon event on 14 March. She placed fifth with 4476 points.[10] At the 2003 Hypo-Meeting, held in Götzis, Austria, from 31 May to 1 June, she placed fourth in the women's heptathlon event with a score of 6,120 points.[11] She made her Universiade debut at the 2003 Summer Universiade in Daegu, South Korea. On 26 August, she finished sixteenth in the women's long jump event with a distance of 5.86 metres, failing to advance to the final.[12]
She earned her first gold medal at the 2004 IAAF World Indoor Championships in Budapest, Hungary, in the women's pentathlon event held on 5 March.[1] She ended the event with a score of 4,759 points, the lowest ever total for a first-place finish in the IAAF World Indoor Championships.[13] At the 2004 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics, held in Huelva, Spain, from 6 to 8 August, Gomes competed in three events: long jump, shot put, and javelin throw. She placed fourth in the long jump event with a distance of 6.36 metres, and eleventh in both the shot put and javelin throw events, with distances of 13.8 metres and 38.46 metres, respectively. She competed in the women's heptathlon event at the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, Greece. She finished thirteenth with a score of 6151 points.[14]
In 2005, she won her first gold medal in a European competition, accomplishing the feat in that year's European Athletics Indoor Championships in Madrid, Spain. She placed first in the women's long jump event, held from 4 to 5 March, with a final distance of 6.6 metres, setting a new record for Portugal.[15] At the 2005 World Championships in Athletics in Helsinki, Finland, Gomes competed in the heptathlon and long jump events. She placed seventh in the heptathlon event, held from 6 to 7 August, with a score of 6,189 points.[16] For the qualification round of the long jump event, held on 9 August, Gomes was placed in the first heat. She placed eighth in her heat with a distance of 6.42 metres and failed to advance to the final.[17] Gomes saw better results at the women's long jump event of the 2005 Summer Universiade, held in İzmir, Turkey, from 15 to 16 August. She advanced to the final after finishing first in the qualification round with a distance of 6.52 metres.[18] She went on to win silver in the final with a distance of 6.56 metres.[19]
Gomes won silver in the 2006 IAAF World Indoor Championships and 2006 European Athletics Championships. At the World Indoor Championships held in Moscow, Russia, from 11 to 12 March, she finished the women's long jump event with a final distance of 6.73 metres, surpassing her previous record.[20] At the European Championships held in Gothenburg, Sweden, she finished the women's long jump event with a final distance of 6.84 metres.[21]
Gomes won her third gold medal in the women's long jump event at the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Birmingham, United Kingdom. She finished first in the qualification round and final with distances of 6.68 metres and 6.89 metres, respectively. The latter result surpassed Gomes' personal best and once again raised the Portuguese national record.[22] In the women's long jump event at the 2007 World Championships in Athletics, held in Osaka, Japan, Gomes finished fourth with a final distance of 6.87 metres.[23]
She won her second gold at the World Indoor Championships and fourth gold overall in 2008. The championships that year were held in Valencia, Spain, from 7 to 9 March. Gomes finished the women's long jump event with a final distance of 7 metres.[24] Gomes went on to finish first in two IAAF World Athletics Tour women's long jump events, in DN Galan, held in Stockholm, Sweden, on 22 July, and Herculis, held in Monte-Carlo, Monaco, on 29 July.[25] She ultimately won gold in that year's IAAF World Athletics Final for women's long jump, held in Stuttgart, Germany, on 13 September. She had a final distance of 6.71 metres.[26] Gomes' strong performances throughout the year led analysts to view her as a favourite to win gold in the women's long jump event at the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China. A month before the games, she had set a season's best of 7.12 metres. However, Gomes fouled on her first two attempts at the Olympic event, before stutter-stepping on her final attempt and ending with a distance of 6.29 metres, placing her 32nd overall (later changed to 31st following the disqualification of silver medalist Tatyana Lebedeva).[27] [28]
She won gold in the women's long jump event at the 2009 Lusophony Games in Lisbon, with a distance of 6.74 metres.[29] She continued her success that year with another gold at the 2009 European Team Championships in Leiria, Portugal, again in women's long jump, with a final distance of 6.83 metres.[30] Gomes then won her first bronze in the women's long jump event at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics in Berlin, Germany, with a final distance of 6.77 metres.[31]
In 2010, Gomes won two consecutive silvers at that year's World Indoor Championships in Doha, Qatar, and the European Athletics Championships in Barcelona, Spain. In the former's women's long jump event, she had a final distance of 6.67 metres; in the latter's, she finished with a distance of 6.92 metres.[32] [33]
Gomes made her final international appearances in 2011. She won silver a final time in the women's long jump event at the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris, France.[34] She had a final distance of 6.79 metres.[35] Gomes failed to win a medal in her final international competition, the 2011 World Championships in Athletics, held in Daegu, South Korea. She placed ninth in the women's long jump event with a distance of 6.26 metres.[36]
On 26 March 2015, Gomes announced her retirement from competitive athletics at the age of 35, in a special news conference made alongside close friends and her longtime coach Abreu Matos. She cited prolonged injuries, which had afflicted her since 2013, as the main reason for her retirement. An injury to her supporting foot kept her from competing, and a knee injury required surgery. Gomes expressed pride in her career, in which she earned 11 medals at the international level, as well as a desire to become a coach or physiotherapist to remain in professional athletics. She also announced that she was expecting her first child.[34] [37]
During her time representing São Tomé and Príncipe, Gomes set national records in women's 100 metres hurdles, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw, pentathlon, and heptathlon.[38] She also holds the Portuguese national records in women's long jump (both outdoor and indoor), high jump, pentathlon, and heptathlon. She set the record in women's long jump 14 times, raising it from 6.56 metres to 7.12 metres.[39]
Portuguese President Jorge Sampaio made Gomes an Officer of the Order of Prince Henry on 8 March 2005.[40]