Solonei da Silva

Who is Solonei da Silva?

Solonei Rocha da Silva is a Brazilian long-distance runner who competes in marathon races. He has a personal best of 2:11:32 hours and won the gold medal in the marathon at the 2011 Pan American Games.

Da Silva worked as a waste collector in Penápolis during his twenties and it was not until 2009, at the age of 27, that he became interested in athletics. Upon the suggestion of his wife, he entered a local race held in honor of Saint Francis of Assisi. Although it was his first attempt at competing over long distances, he surprised himself by finishing in third place.

The following year he entered a 10,000 metres track race in Rio de Janeiro and won in a time of 29:39.72 minutes. At the São Paulo Half Marathon Corpore in April 2010 he came third, then he stepped up in distance to make his debut in the full marathon a month later. He surprised the field at the Porto Alegre Marathon by winning on his first attempt in a time of 2:15:45 hours. Under the guidance of two-time Olympian Clodoaldo do Carmo, da Silva represented Esporte Clube Pinheiros in the 10,000 m at the Troféu Brasil de Atletismo and came fourth at his first national level event.