At the 2001 World Championships in Athletics she ran for Portugal in the 5000 metres but did not make the final. She was the 2002 winner of the Cross Internacional de Itálica. She suffered a serious injury in early 2006 and her future as an elite performer seemed in doubt. However, she came back strongly and won the 2007 Oeiras International Cross Country, beating reigning Portuguese champion Jessica Augusto to the finish line. She and Augusto led the Portuguese women to the team bronze medal at the 2007 European Cross Country Championships later that year.