 Macari in 2006 | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Born | September 23, 1959 (1959-09-23) (age 66) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 5 ft 9 in (1.75 m) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 132 lb (60 kg) | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Position | Shooting guard | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Women's Basketball Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIBA Hall of Fame | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Medals
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Hortência Maria de Fátima Marcari (born September 23, 1959) is a formerbasketball player who is often considered to be one of the greatest female basketball players in Brazil, along withPaula. Marcari is a member of theWomen's Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2002),[1] theNaismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame (inducted in 2005),[2] andFIBA Hall of Fame (inducted in 2007).[3] She is known in her country asHortência, and her nickname isThe Queen.
Born inPotirendaba,São Paulo,Brazil,[2][3] Hortência is of Italian background, her grandparents having moved to Brazil from that European nation. Hortência's father was a laborer.
When Hortência was ten years old, her family moved to São Paulo, and Hortência became interested in sports. Her family disapproved of her choice to play sports, since her father had been disabled on the field and they wanted her to work bringing home part of the earnings her father used to. But they eventually gave up trying to keep her from her favorite activity.
At the age of thirteen, in 1972, Hortência began to playstreet basketball at herschool gym. One year later, she was spotted byWaldir Paga Perez, coach ofBrazil women's national basketball team. Hortência was playing for the national team at age fifteen.
Hortência began to play as a professional with theSão Caetano Esporte Clube, becoming an instant celebrity in Brazil. Over the years, she played for Associação Prudentina, C.A Minercal, C.A Consteca/Sedox, NCNBPonte Preta and ADC Seara until she retired from professional basketball in 1996, one year before Arcain began playing in the United States'WNBA. Hortência was ateen idol to many female basketball fans in the cities where she played, particularly atPrudentina where, during an interview withJeremy Larner, she was stopped many times byautograph seekers on her way from her house to a game.
Hortência's first international experience came in 1976, when Brazil's women's national basketball team won the South American juvenile championship inParaguay. In 1979, she helped her team to a fourth place at thePan American Games held inPuerto Rico. In 1983, Hortência and the national team improved their previous Pan American performance by winning a bronze medal at theVenezuela games, while in 1987 Hortência and the Brazilian Women's national team went one step further by winning a silver medal at the 1987Indianapolis Pan American Games.[3] In 1991, Hortência and the Brazilian women's national basketball team won the gold medal at that year's Pan American tournament held inCuba. In 1992, Hortência helped her team to a bronze medal at the Pre-Olympic competition held in Spain, returning later that year to that country to play in theOlympic Games for the first time. Brazil settled for seventh place at theBarcelona Olympics.
Finally in 1994, Hortência won the women'sworld basketball championship in Australia,[3] making Brazil the only country other than theSoviet Union or the United States to win the title (Australia became the fourth in 2006). The semi-final game against the USA is considered one of the greatest in history, and Brazil shocked the world with the victory. After the silver medal in the next Olympic Games, Marcari retired from international competition.
Apart from those competitions, she also played inPeru,Singapore,Malaysia,Bulgaria and South Korea.
Despite the fact her team did not qualify for the1984 Olympics inLos Angeles, Hortência was featured on those games' official program, in an article namedThe Queen.
On 5 August 2016, she became the penultimate torch bearer for the2016 Summer Olympics torch relay, being the link betweenGustavo Kuerten who brought the torch into the Olympic Stadium, and the cauldron lighter,Vanderlei de Lima, during theOpening Ceremonies.[4]
Her son,João Victor, participated indressage competitions at the2016 Summer Olympics.
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