Ana Paula Connelly

Ana Paula Rodrigues Connelly Henkel (born 13 February 1972 in Lavras, Minas Gerais) is a retired female volleyball player and journalist from Brazil who represented her native country at four Summer Olympics: in volleyball in 1992 and 1996, and in beach volleyball in 2004 and 2008. With Brazil women's national volleyball team, she won three World Grand Prix editions and got medals in various tournaments, including the 1996 Olympics in the United States and the 1994 FIVB Volleyball Women's World Championship in Japan.^[1] On the beach, she won the FIVB Beach Volleyball World Tour in 2003 (alongside Sandra Pires) and 2008 (with Shelda Bede).

Ana Paula Henkel
Ana Paula Henkel (left) in 2006
Personal information
Full name	Ana Paula Rodrigues Connelly Henkel
Nationality	Brazil and United States
Born	(1972-02-13) 13 February 1972 (age 51) Lavras, Minas Gerais, Brazil
Height	1.83 m (6 ft 0 in)
Weight	68 kg (150 lb)
Spike	309 cm (122 in)
Block	284 cm (112 in)
Volleyball information
Position	Middle blocker
National team
Brazil
Honours Women's volleyball Representing  Brazil Summer Olympics 1996 Atlanta Team World Championship 1994 Brazil Team World Cup 1995 Japan World Grand Prix 1994 Shanghai 1996 Shanghai 1998 Hong Kong 1995 Shanghai

After retiring from volleyball in 2010, she moved to Los Angeles, California, where she majored in architecture at UCLA and is now studying to get a master's degree in political science. Noted for her conservative views, she had a column in newspaper O Estado de S. Paulo and joined news station Jovem Pan.^[2]

Personal life

She has been married three times, first to basketballer Jeffty Connelly from 1994 to 1998, and then to volleyball coach Marcus Miranda, with whom she had a son. Since 2010, she has been married to attorney and retired beach volleyballer Carl Henkel.^[3][4] She was considering a fifth Olympic appearance in 2012, but retired as she was developing panic disorder and started resenting being too absent for her son.^[5]

References

1. . todor66.com. Archived from the original on 3 March 2016. Retrieved 29 November 2015.
2. Dama de ferro, Universo Online
3. "ISTOÉ Gente Online".
4. "Troca de alianças ao pôr do sol de Ana Paula e Carl". 9 February 2010.
5. Síndrome do pânico fez Ana Paula desistir de sua quinta Olimpíada, Universo Online

• UOL profile

External links

• Ana Paula Connelly at the FIVB beach volleyball database  
• Ana Paula Connelly Henkel at the Beach Volleyball Database  
• Ana Paula Connelly at Olympics.com  
• at Olympic.org (archived)  
• Ana Paula at Olympedia  
• Ana Paula Henkel's political column

Sporting positions
Preceded by   Kerri Walsh and Misty May-Treanor (USA)	Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner alongside   Sandra Pires 2003	Succeeded by   Adriana Behar and Shelda Bede (BRA)
Preceded by   Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta (BRA)	Women's FIVB Beach World Tour Winner alongside   Shelda Bede 2008	Succeeded by   Larissa França and Juliana Felisberta (BRA)
Awards
Preceded by   Ana Fernández	Best Spiker of FIVB World Grand Prix 1998	Succeeded by   Elizaveta Tichtchenko
Preceded by   Li Yan	Best Blocker of FIVB World Grand Prix 1998	Succeeded by   Yelena Godina
Preceded by Inaugural	Women's FIVB World Tour "Best Server" 2005 – 2007	Succeeded by   Maria Clara Salgado (BRA)
Preceded by   Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França (BRA)	Women's FIVB World Tour "Team of the Year" alongside   Shelda Bede 2008	Succeeded by   Juliana Felisberta and Larissa França (BRA)