Daniele Matias Hypólito (born September 8, 1984) is a Brazilian gymnast who competed in the 2000, 2004 and 2008 Summer Olympics. Hypólito was the first athlete from Brazil ever to win a medal at the World Championships, a silver on floor exercise in 2001.[1] She is also the nine-time senior all-around Brazilian National Champion in artistic gymnastics, 2002 South American Games all-around champion and 2003 Pan American Games all-around bronze medalist. To date Hypólito has represented Brazil at the World Championships seven times, competing in every Worlds meet from 1999 to 2007, as well as the 1999, 2003 and 2007 Pan American Games.
Hypólito was born in Santo André, São Paulo to parents Wagner and Geni.[1] Her younger brother, Diego, is also a world-class gymnast. In 2005 he became the first male Brazilian gymnast to win a World Championships medal, earning gold on the floor exercise.
Training in Rio de Janeiro, Hypólito was competing internationally by the time she was 10 years old. As a junior, she won the all-around in the Junior Pan Am Games in 1998 and the Canberra Cup in 1999. Hypólito placed a modest 27th in the all-around at the 1999 World Gymnastics Championships, but helped Brazil qualify athletes to the 2000 Olympics in Sydney. She was chosen to represent Brazil at the Olympics and qualified for the all-around final, finishing in 20th place.[1]
In 2001, Hypólito made dramatic improvements. At that year’s World Championships, she placed fourth in the all-around. Until Jade Barbosa’s bronze medal win at the 2007 World Championships, this placement was the highest AA finish ever achieved by a Brazilian gymnast in Worlds or Olympic competition. Hypólito followed up her strong AA showing by winning Brazil’s first ever gymnastics medal, a silver, in the floor exercise event final. She continued to do well in 2002, winning the all-around and every event final gold except uneven bars at the South American Games and placing 5th on floor at the World Championships. At the 2003 World Championships Hypólito placed last in the all-around after injuring herself on her first event, however, she helped Brazil qualify a full team for the 2004 Olympics. At the Olympics, Hypólito competed well, helping the Brazilian team to a ninth place finish and placing 12th in the all-around.
Hypólito placed 9th in the all-around at the 2005 World Championships. In 2006 she won her ninth national championships. She also won the silver medal on balance beam at the 2006 World Cup Finals, one of the major events on the FIG calendar, that took place in São Paulo, Brazil.
In 2007, Hypólito placed second in the all-around at the Brazilian National Championships and won the floor exercise title. She was a member of the silver medal-winning Brazilian team at the 2007 Pan American Games, where she placed 5th in the all-around and won a bronze medal on beam.[2] She also participated in the 2007 World Championships, where she helped the Brazilian team to its highest placing ever, fifth in the team finals. She also competed at the 2007 Arthur Gander Memorial Cup in Switzerland, where she placed 4th all-around and won a bronze medal on floor.
In 2008, Hypólito left the National Training Center in Curitiba to return to her home club, Flamengo, in Rio de Janeiro.[3] At the 2008 Brazilian National Championships, she placed first on the balance beam, second on floor, and third in the all-around and vault.[4]
At the Olympics, Hypólito competed on three events–bars, beam and floor exercise–in the preliminary round of competition.[5] In the team finals, she competed on balance beam and uneven bars, contributing scores of 14.925 and 14.625 to the Brazilian team’s 8th place finish.[6]