She is alive by a miracle and now makes a whole nation dream: not just samba and soccer

The Olympic Games always give stories out of the ordinary and often feature athletes who are not overachievers but whose passion is certainly not inferior to that of the big boys. Not just samba and soccer for Brazil, for example. In January 2022 Bruna Moura from Caraguatatuba, 170 kilometers from São Paulo, was one step away from achieving her Olympic dream. A former biathlete who switched to cross-country skiing, she had earned the qualification to be able to compete in Beijing against the best in the discipline.

Aldo Seghedoni

Then, just days before the opening ceremony, everything changed. In Austria, while traveling in a van to Germany to catch her flight to China, she was involved in a serious car accident. The driver lost his life. She survived, but with three broken ribs, a fractured left arm and foot, and lung injuries. A true miracle worker.

An extremely hard trauma, even on a psychological level, that could have blown everything to pieces. Instead, Bruna chose not to abandon her goal. Four years later she is on the slopes of Val di Fiemme, with a smile that says more than a thousand words. “I had to rebuild myself, physically and mentally – she tells L’Equipe -It took almost two years to get back to top form. Even today I still feel pain in my left foot, it is part of my daily routine. But the psychological part was the most difficult. It was so hard, however, it was worth it”.

In the beginning, his was an almost unknown name in the cross-country skiing circuit. Paradoxically, just after the accident Bruna saw her celebrity rise exponentially. “I never felt alone. So many people wrote to me to find out how I was doing, how my journey was progressing. At that point it was no longer just my dream. It became something bigger, and that gave me tremendous motivation”. The 31-year-old gets emotional and excited talking about her return to competition, at the World Championships in Planica in 2023. “Many people came to greet me, I made many friendships. Today I share with them my experience”.

At Milan Cortina 2026 represents a country with no real tradition in winter sports. She lives in the Netherlands with her partner and to support her career works in a handbag store. “For these Games I received a lot of support from the Brazilian Olympic committee. I had never had such a structure. I almost feel like a professional athlete” she says with a laugh.

After placing 74th in the sprint qualifier, she will return to competition in the 10 km individual skating event and then in the team sprint. “The course is challenging, but it will be fun. It is a dream come true” he concludes, struggling not to be moved again.