Professional Career
He started out as a cross country runner, representing Brazil at the 1989 and 1992 IAAF World Cross Country Championships. It was at regional level that he won his first medals, scoring a bronze at the 1993 South American Cross Country Championships before going on to win the competition in 1995.
He won his first marathon in 1996, taking the Tokyo International Marathon title. He attended his first Summer Olympics that same year, running in the marathon at the 1996 Atlanta Games and he finished in 47th place. His first world appearance followed a year later at the 1997 World Championships in Athletics and he improved to finish in 23rd place overall. He set a personal best at the 1998 Tokyo Marathon, completing the classic distance in 2:08:31, but he was the second to cross the finish line after Alberto Juzdado.
Just as in the cross country competitions, it was in regional competitions that he won his first marathon medals. He was the Pan American champion twice consecutively, running 2:17:20 at the 1999 Games and 2:19:08 for the second victory at the 2003 Games. He began the 2004 season well with a quick win (2:09:39) at the Hamburg Marathon.
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