Career
At age thirty-four, Tavares made her official debut for the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, where she competed in the women"s 800 metres. She finished the race in sixth place by more than a second behind Italy"s Elisa Cusma Piccione, with a time of 2:01.91. Tavares, however, failed to advance into the semi-finals, as she placed twenty-first overall, and was ranked farther below three mandatory slots for the next round.