Mariana Machado improved her personal record in the 5,000 meters on Wednesday, with the ninth fastest time in Portugal, but was left out of the world athletics final, in 20th place.
The youngest athlete of the Portuguese delegation to Eugene2022, 21 years old, completed the second distance semifinal in 15.18.09 minutes, seven seconds behind your previous best (25.15.87, already this year), improving the national sub-23 record —the previous mark was 20 years old and held by Inês Monteiro (21.15.05).
Liliana Cá on Friday at the discus launch at the World Championships in Athletics
It was very good. My first goal was to beat the personal record, the second to beat the national record [do seu escalão] and, if it were possible, by a miracle, a ticket to the final, which I know was very difficult in a first participation”, explained the Sporting de Braga athlete.
EITHER 12th place in his semifinal, won by the Ethiopian Letesenbet Gidey, world champion in the 10,000 meters, in 14.52.27, he left her outside the five direct tabulation placesalso getting outside the playoff spots — the last one was the American Emily Infeld, on 15.00.98.
But, at the age of 21, and in her debut on the big stages, the daughter of Albertina Machado, seventh in the 10,000 meters in Seoul 1988 and in the World Cup in Rome 1987, climbed to the ‘top-10’ of the distance between the PortugueseOnly surpassed by the national record holder Fernanda Ribeiro (14.36.45) and the consecrated Jessica Augusto (14.37.07), Sara Moreira (14.54.71), Inês Monteiro (01.15.06), Albertina Dias (05.15.12), Aurora Cunha (06.15.96), Marina Bastos (07.15.29) and Dulce Félix (08.15.02).
I think for a debut I couldn’t ask for better! He already missed breaking a national record and it always feels good. I am very satisfied, I fulfilled my main goal, I am leaving here very motivated to come back next year with bigger goals: maybe a passage to the final”, he continued.
After having reached her first world championships with the 29th mark among those registered, Mariana Machado highlighted the achievements obtained.
It is in these competitions where we gain experience to reach finalist places or medals. Every time I achieved something in my range, I had to bet without winning anything. This is how I see this competition, so I can only be satisfied. Now to the European Championship, which was my real goal for this season”, he said.
In the last kilometer, the youngest member of the Portuguese national team, who, like the javelin thrower Leandro Ramos, born in 2000, conquered three positions, to reach 10th place, after having accelerated at the start of the competition.
“I was aware that the first laps were going to be very fast and I felt that if I let myself go at that pace I could fall. i had to hold backI did more than half of the race alone, so I think there is room for progress, in one more race with my rhythms, not with these rhythms of the best in the world, from which I am still far away. I took a risk at the start and recovered in the last few laps.Of course, alone against time is always difficult, but I expected this to happen. I knew I had to push, to beat this record and I am very happy to have achieved it”, he concluded.
Source: Observadora
