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Judges at a bodybuilding competition awarded identical triplets first, second and third prizes after being unable to tell them apart.

Adriana, Alessandra and Andreia Dantas are now Brazil's national bodybuilding champions after their surprise win in the country's biggest contest.

But they insisted it didn't matter which of them came first as "all three of us are exactly the same in every way, so if one of us wins, we all win".

The identical triplets said they started working out aged 17 after suffering bullying by other girls at school for being skinny and always "the centre of attention".

They had never considered entering a fitness competition until last year when Andreia was persuaded to take part in a natural bodybuilding contest in Italy, where she lives, and finished second.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper) (Image: supplied by Matt Roper) (Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

The women, aged 35, who are now all mothers of boys and despite each living in different countries "do everything exactly the same", then decided to enter the women's fitness competition in their home country together.

Andreia said: "We met up in Brazil and started preparing for the competition.

"We ate together exactly the same food at exactly the same time, we worked out together in the same gym, doing exactly the same exercises at the same time.

"When the day came for us to be weighed in front of the judges you could see their jaws drop. Our bodies were identical and we weighed almost exactly the same, less than a kilo (2.2lbs) between us. They had never seen anything like it."

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

All three women have even had the same silicone breast implants, by the same plastic surgeon.

Alessandra, who now lives in Canada, said: "We were all very flat chested. The doctor was astonished, he said it was as if he'd done the same surgery three times because our bodies were identical."

But Adriana said the sisters never expected to even take a podium place at the bodybuilding event in Sao Paulo in which they were competing against other women with much more preparation and experience.

Adriana finished first, Andreia second and Alessandra third.

Adriana, who lives in Sao Paulo with her two sons aged seven and four, said: "When they announced the winners we couldn't believe we'd all won together. The judges said they couldn't find any difference between our bodies. They never explained why they chose us in the order they did.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

"I can only imagine that I was slightly more confident than Andreia and Alessandra, who were a little more nervous.

"But it didn't matter who came where, because the connection between us is so strong, we all feel like we are the same person. So if one wins, we all win.

"Even when Andreia came second in the Italian competition, Alessandra and I felt that we had won too. It will always be like that, it's how we are. When one of us is happy, we're all happy. But if one is going through problems or difficulties, we are all "

The sisters, who are actually three of quadruplets with a brother, Alexandre, were born prematurely at seven months and Andreia, who picked up pneumonia, nearly died.

The pregnancy was unplanned and their hard-up parents, who already had one son, struggled to raise them in their small home in Ceilandia, in the metropolitan area of Brazil's capital Brasilia, relying on government handouts to feed and clothe them.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

The parents split up when the children were five and as they grew up the three blonde girls went on to suffer bullying at school.

Adriana, a professional cake baker, said: "We suffered a lot as children. The girls at school hated us because we were always the centre of attention. They'd write things about us in the toilets. They'd pick on us because we were really skinny and call us names like 'toothpick'.

"One time when we were 16 a group attacked Andreia and beat her up. We were so scared we didn't leave home for a month."

Alessandra, who also works as a cake baker, said growing up as identical sisters also had its fun moments.

She said: "Everywhere we went people would stare at us, shocked, as if we were aliens. We got used to it and sometimes had fun being identical.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

"One time when Adriana was working at a call centre I worked for a day in her place and nobody noticed the difference.

"Another time when I started to like a boy I arranged to meet him and sent my sisters instead. First one sister met up with him, then made an excuse to leave and the other went back. Finally, when they had to go know him and approved, I took their place and we ended up going out.

"But we have never swapped boyfriends or anything like that. We respect each other too much and we have different tastes in guys anyway. When a guy would come up to me in a club I wasn't interested in, I'd often say, 'it won't work out with me, but you do have two more chances'."

Alessandra, who moved to Vancouver in Canada with her husband who works for a consulting firm, and their 11-year-old son, said it was the name calling and bullying which got the girls started in body building.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

She said: "I was the one who started, followed by the other two. We wanted a fuller body, with more curves, so people wouldn't call us those names anymore. As we worked out and saw our bodies changing it made us want to do it more.

"Even in the gym everyone would stop and stare. We'd wear the same clothes and do the same exercises together in unison. People couldn't believe what they were seeing.

"But we never imagined that one day we'd together be the champions of bodybuilding in Brazil. That's difficult for even us to believe."

While each of the women have gone their separate ways and live in different continents, the inseparable bonds that started in the womb are as strong as ever.

(Image: supplied by Matt Roper)

Andreia, who lives with her Italian partner in the Tuscany region of Italy, and their three-year-old son, said: "We have this really strong connection. If one of us is going through a tough time, we all feel bad, sometimes to the detriment of our other relationships.

"We have never gone a day without speaking to each other. If my mobile phone isn't working and I can't get through to either of the others, I have a crisis of panic. We have to hear each other's voice every day.

"And whatever one of us does, the others do too. If one goes and gets their hair cut, the other two go and do the same. It's how it's always been.

"It was the same with the bodybuilding competition. I was in the gym one day and someone suggested that I enter a contest.

"As soon as the others knew I was going to they decide they wanted to aswell.

"When I came second they were so excited because it was as if it were them. And before we knew it, we are now the joint champions of Brazil.

"It was amazing to win, but the best part was to be together again doing the same thing. Three sisters in one."