Campeonas del Mundo de Baloncesto: factores determinantes para el rendimiento de excelencia/Basketball World Champions: determinant factor for excellence performance/Campeões do mundo de basquetebol: fatores determinantes para a excelência do desempenho

The 1994 FIBA World Championship was the largest demonstration of excellence in Brazilian women's basketball, resulting in the greatest achievement in its history. The objective of this investigation was to obtain and rescue the athletes' perceptions regarding this historic achievement in order to show what the determining factors were. The methodology used was the Collective Subject Discourse. Each subject underwent semi structured interviews, and from these was synthesized a single representative speech of this group of world champions. It was evident that the achievement of the championship was the result of a process and set of dynamic and complex factors. Thus, the systematization and organization of training and group cohesion (between athletes and between athletes and coaches) were essential for the manifestation of excellent performance, corroborating studies in other contexts. Furthermore, new studies about sporting excellence are needed in the South American context.