As a junior athlete she competed in two World Junior Championships. At the 2000 edition in Santiago, Chile she finished eleventh in the triple jump. Her personal best at the time was 13.23 metres. In 2001, she broke the 14-metre barrier as she improved to 14.00 metres at a meet in São Caetano do Sul. This was a new South American junior record. In 2002 the World Junior Championships were held in Kingston, Jamaica. Here she finished ninth in the long jump and won the bronze medal in the triple jump. She was the first Brazilian to win a medal at the World Junior Championships. She had not improved in the latter event, but her personal best in the long jump was 6.46 metres, achieved in September 2002 in Rio de Janeiro.