Brazilian rower Kissya da Costa has put her modeling career on hold to pursue her dream of Olympic gold at the London Games.

The 30-year-old, who advanced to the quarterfinals of the women's single sculls on Saturday with a fourth-place finish in her heat, says she hasn't posed in front of the cameras for two years because of the demands of her sport.

"I don't miss modeling," she told The Associated Press. "In Brazil, it doesn't earn you much money."

She now divides her time between rowing and studying nutrition at university, where she still has two years left in her degree.

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