Olympics 2024: 5 Brazilian Athletes Who Were Not Born in Brazil

Americans, Italians, Cubans, and more are part of the team representing Brazil at the Paris Olympics

Brazil is well-represented with nearly 300 athletes selected to compete in the 2024 Paris Olympics. Staying true to its tradition of embracing diversity and welcoming others, not all of these athletes were born in Brazil.

Some of these athletes are ‘foreigners’ but embody the Brazilian spirit just as much as any other. In this article, Marie Claire highlights 5 competitors who were born abroad and later moved to Brazil to pursue their athletic careers.

Julia Bergmann (German)

Julia Bergmann, 23, was born in Munich, Germany, on February 21, 2001. About ten years later, in 2011, her parents decided to move to Brazil to expose their children to a different culture and language.

Her father was German, but her mother was from Toledo, Paraná, where the family moved, and Julia began her volleyball career. She is now part of the Brazilian national volleyball team.

Nathalie Moellhausen (Italian)

Daughter of a German father and a Brazilian mother, Nathalie Moellhausen, 38, was born in Milan, Italy, but chose not to represent her birth country in fencing. Since 2014, she has competed for Brazil.

Lukas Bergmann (German)

Lukas Bergmann, 19, shares the same story as his sister, Julia Bergmann. Also a volleyball player, but for the men’s national team, he moved to Brazil at just seven years old and fell in love with volleyball after watching his sister train.

Yoandy Leal (Cuban)

Yoandy Leal Hidalgo, known simply as Leal in the volleyball world, was born in Havana, Cuba, and began his career there, debuting for the national team in 2007 at the U21 World Championship.

After three years with the Cuban national team, he left the country due to the restrictions placed on athletes, including the inability to play for international teams. Once in Brazil, he played for Cruzeiro and became a naturalized Brazilian in 2015. Now 35, he plays as an outside hitter for the Brazilian national team.

Nicolas Albiero (American)

Nicolas Albiero, 24, was born in the United States and had a legacy in swimming, as his parents, Arthur Albiero, from São Paulo, and Amy Comerford, had amassed numerous titles in the collegiate circuit.

After years of building his career, he decided to move to Belo Horizonte, Brazil, in July 2023, to join Minas Tênis Clube. He immediately began the naturalization process with the goal of representing Brazil in international competitions.

In an official statement to the press, Nick expressed his happiness with this new step, especially the opportunity to connect with his Brazilian heritage.

“Joining the Brazilian Confederation of Aquatic Sports (CBDA) allows me to embrace a family legacy and honor my father’s roots. I have always felt a sense of belonging to Brazil, regularly visiting and learning about the culture. This decision speaks volumes about who I am at my core,” he said.
Nick also makes history at this Olympics by being the first openly gay Brazilian swimmer to compete in the event.