Poliana Okimoto
Country: Brazil

Biography:
Growing up by the ocean, Poliana Okimoto learned to swim at an early age, and has made this skill pay off. Brazil’s record holder in the 800M freestyle, she moved to open water after placing 6th in a local Rio event. In 2006, at the World Open Water Championships in Naples, she became the first Brazilian swimmer to win an international open water medal. Her silver medals in both the 5 and 10K Open Water Championships were followed by a second place 10K finish at the 2007 Pan Am Games. At the 2008 Olympics, Poliana finished 7th.