Gabriel Mangabeira

Gabriel Samain Vasconcellos Mangabeira (born 31 January 1982) is a Brazilian competition swimmer who qualified for the men's 100-metre butterfly at both the 2004 Summer Olympics and the 2008 Summer Olympics. Mangabeira also won a silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly at the 2007 Pan American Games.

Early years Mangabeira was born in Rio de Janeiro in 1982.

College career Mangabeira attended the University of Florida in Gainesville, Florida, where he swam for coach Gregg Troy's Florida Gators swimming and diving team in the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) competition from 2001 to 2004. As a Gator swimmer, he received eighteen All-American honors. Mangabeira graduated from the University of Florida with a bachelor's degree in food and resource economics in 2004.

International career He started swimming at the instigation of his grandfather, who was a swimming teacher, at the age of two years. He tried judo at 10 years old, but left due to his mother. His first club was the Canto do Rio in Niterói. At age 13, he moved to Fluminense. Three years later, he moved to Vasco, where he stayed until 2000.

He participated at the 1999 Pan American Games in Winnipeg, where he finished 11th in the 100-metre butterfly, and 11th in the 200-metre individual medley. He was at the 2003 World Aquatics Championships in Barcelona, where he finished 37th in the 100-metre butterfly.

Prior to the 2004 Olympics, he came to the United States, where he was trained by the Olympic champion Anthony Nesty. and in the 50-metre backstroke, where he came in at 16th place. He was at the 2006 FINA World Swimming Championships (25 m) in Shanghai, where he finished 19th in the 100-metre butterfly, 20th in the 50-metre backstroke and 9th in the 4×100-metre medley. He swam at the 2006 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships, where he finished 5th in the 100-metre butterfly and 7th in the 4×100-metre medley.

Mangabeira also qualified to compete in the 2007 World Aquatics Championships in the 100-metre butterfly and 50-metre backstroke, but did not make it past the initial heats. He ranked 17th in the 100-metre butterfly and 9th in the 4×100-metre medley, helping the Brazilian relay to qualify for the 2008 Olympics.

At the 2007 Pan American Games in Rio de Janeiro, he won the silver medal in the 100-metre butterfly, and also helped the Brazilian 4×100-metre medley relay in heats, winning the silver medal in the event. He was at the 2010 Pan Pacific Swimming Championships in Irvine, where he finished 4th in the 4×100-metre medley, 15th in the 100-metre butterfly, and 15th in the 100-metre backstroke.

At the 2011 Pan American Games in Guadalajara, Mangabeira won gold in the 4×100-metre medley and in the 4×100-metre freestyle.

Post-career After retiring from competitive swimming in 2013, Mangabeira joined the Brazilian Olympic Committee’s Athlete Support Program, participating in educational and youth development initiatives connected to the Jogos Escolares da Juventude.

In 2014, he was hired by The Coca-Cola Company in Brazil to contribute to the company’s strategic planning for the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, leveraging his experience as an Olympic athlete in sports-related projects.

Since leaving professional sport, Mangabeira has worked in marketing and technology, serving as a campaign manager at the digital agency Russell Marketing and collaborating on projects with brands such as Coca-Cola, Canon and Panasonic, as well as emerging technology startups.