Career
Naide Gomes started competing under the flag of her birth country São Tomé and Príncipe and represented it at the Sydney 2000 Olympics, though she has lived in Portugal since she was 11 years old. At the Sydney Olympics, Gomes was the São-Tomé flag carrier in the opening ceremony. Before changing nationality she set the current São Tomé and Príncipe records in 100 metres hurdles, long jump, high jump, triple jump, shot put, javelin throw and heptathlon.
She gained Portuguese citizenship in 2001, and has since represented Portugal at major international events.
Gomes has recently won gold medals for long jump at the 2006 European Athletics Championships and the 2007 European Athletics Indoor Championships, raising the national record to 6.89 m at the latter.
In Madrid, she became the first Portuguese athlete ever to reach the seven metres distance in the long jump, by jumping 7.01m. In Valencia she won gold at the World Athletics Indoor Championships 2008, by jumping 7.00m.
On 22 July, Naide Gomes was the winner of the IAAF Super Grand Prix DN Galan, Stockholm, Sweden, with a new national record of 7.04 m.
On 29 July, at the IAAF Super Grand Prix Herculis, Monte-Carlo, Monaco, she jumped 7.12 m, a new national record and 2008 world's best mark.
On 19 August, at the 2008 Summer Olympics held in Beijing, China, a top-favorite for the gold medal, in peak physical condition and having dominated the season, Gomes unexpectedly fouled on her first two attempts and then stutter-stepped on her final try jumping a mere 6.29 m, thus failing to qualify to the final.
She won the long jump gold medal at the 2009 Lusophony Games with a jump of 6.74 m.
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