Portuguese triathlon phenom Vanessa Fernandes announced today that she will take a break from the sport because of health issues. Only 26-years old, Fernandes already has a record 21 World Cup titles on her resume.

According to a report in the Portuguese newspaper A Bola, 2007 ITU World Champion Vanessa Fernandes has informed the Portuguese Olympic Committee President Vicente Moura and the president of the Portuguese Triathlon Federation José Luis Ferreira that she will indeed step away from triathlon training and racing for a while.

Fernandes has a record 21 World Cup titles, an Olympic Silver medal, a World Championship crown and 10 European Championship titles including her Junior and U23 results. After taking the Silver medal at the Beijing Olympic Games, Fernandes started to drift somewhat out of the picture with a series of DNFs in 2009 plagued by an Achilles injury and a recurring flu issue. Insiders say that Fernandes kept pushing her body even when she was injured or otherwise sick and eventually walked away from her long time manager Hugo Sousa.

At the 2010 Dextro Energy WCS race in Madrid Fernandes showed some of that brilliant and amazing athletic prowess and gave her fans a reason to get excited. But seemingly not yet completely fit she drifted to a respectable 10th place in a race she had won a record 6 times before.

Below is a translation of what Fernandes said about the situation at hand:

"There are moments in life when we must face choices that are difficult, and sometimes it is tough to escape them. This has always been part of life, and despite the anguish I feel in making this decision, I think is the best way to preserve the past and the dedication to the National Triathlon Federation and Portugal.

For health reasons I have stopped in recent months to devote myself to the sport that I embraced and that gave me so much joy. I want to inform you of my intention to temporarily take a break from the sport. This does not mean I am totally abandoning (triathlon), it is only a temporary interruption that will allow me shortly to return in full.

I hope you understand my reasons and understand the difficulties of the moment I currently live with. I know I'll get back and that this phase represents only a short break in my sporting career. I count on your support,

Vanessa Fernandes"