Simone Alves da Silva (born 12 September 1984) is a Brazilian long-distance runner. She won the 2011 South American title over 10,000 metres and broke South American records for the 5000 m and 10,000 m events in 2011, but was banned from competition for a doping offence that year.
Born in Morro do Chapéu, she had a rapid ascent in distance running beginning at the age of 24 after joining the BM&F Bovespa athletics club and working with coach Adauto Domingues. She won the Guaratingueta 10K and set a half marathon best of 77:47 minutes at the São Paulo Half Marathon in 2009. She began 2010 with another half marathon best run of 75:43 minutes in São Paulo, coming second in the race, then a 10,000 metres personal best of 33:25.6 minutes to win the State championships.[1]
She was chosen to compete at the 2010 Ibero-American Championships in Athletics and she won the 5000 metres silver medal in a personal best of 15:49.79 minutes before running a 3000 metres best of 9:09.41 minutes for fourth in that contest.[2] [3] [4] She failed a doping test at a 10-mile race in Brazil, being positive for the banned stimulant Oxilofrine, and was suspended from December 2010 to February 2011.[1] She was retrospectively banned, but competed at the Saint Silvester Road Race in the meantime, taking second place behind Alice Timbilil.[5]
Upon her return da Silva won the women's title at the 2011 South American Cross Country Championships, leading Brazil to the team title.[6] That May she broke the South American record for the 5000 m with a run of 15:18.85 minutes at a small meet in São Paulo.[7] At the 2011 South American Championships in Athletics in Buenos Aires she came sixth in the 1500 metres then made a career breakthrough by winning the 10,000 m with a time of 31:59.11 minutes – the second fastest by a South American and a championship record.[8] At the Troféu Brasil de Atletismo later that year she won a 5000/10,000 m national title double. Her 10,000 metres time of 31:16.56 minutes was a new South American record and over half a minute faster than Carmem de Oliveira's previous mark set in 1993.[9]
However, her doping sample at that competition came back positive for erythropoietin (EPO), a banned blood boosting substance. She was provisionally suspended from October 2011 onwards and Clube de Atletismo BM&F Bovespa cut ties with her.[10] A Brazilian Disciplinary Committee acquitted her of the doping offence in January 2012, but the Brazilian Athletics Confederation lodged an appeal to instate a ban on da Silva.[11] She remains banned from competition.[12]