Naide Gomes
Updated: Wikipedia source
Enezenaide "Naide" do Rosário da Vera Cruz Gomes (born 20 November 1979) is a São Toméan and Portuguese retired track and field athlete who competed in jumping, throwing, hurdling, and combined events. She is the 2004 World Indoor Champion in the pentathlon and the 2008 World Indoor Champion in the long jump. She has held the São Toméan record in nine disciplines (holding three as of 2022) and the Portuguese record in five disciplines (holding three as of 2025). She improved the Portuguese record in women's long jump 14 times, raising it from 6.56 metres to 7.12 metres. Gomes moved from São Tomé and Príncipe to the Portuguese capital of Lisbon when she was 11. When she was 17, she joined Portuguese sports club Sporting CP and applied for Portuguese citizenship. She initially competed at international events as a representative of São Tomé and Príncipe before becoming a naturalised citizen of Portugal in 2001, upon which she changed her sport nationality. A number of injuries altered the trajectory of Gomes's career. A knee injury in 2005 forced her to retire from the combined events, as it rendered her unable to train effectively for the high jump and hurdles events. In 2012, Gomes ruptured the Achilles tendon in her left leg but underwent a successful operation. However, additional prolonged injuries kept her away from the track from 2013 onward, and in 2015 she announced her retirement from competition. She has since become a physiotherapist.