The best golden key to close what will remain the most successful European Championships in the history of Portugal was impossible: in a fantastic test in which he managed to lead in the two favorite specialties (backstroke and breaststroke) gaining margin to manage the 50 meters free, Gabriel Lopes won the bronze medal in the 200 meters, stamping a historic second podium in this edition after Diogo Ribeiro’s third place in the 50-meter butterfly. Apart from the other finals and all the national records achieved, Portugal achieved only in this edition, held in the city of Rome, half of the medals it has in the entire history of Europeans (Yokochi and Alexis have the others) .
Fifth, seventh, another historical medal: the bronze of Gabriel Lopes in the 200 meters European style
“It was a great satisfaction, not only because of the two medals that are the corollary of the good national participation in these European Championships, but also because of the number of results of the other swimmers between finals, national records and semifinals. I think we are facing a new generation of swimmers who are the result of a lot of work, a lot of dedication, a lot of strategy and the results of all this are visible”, commented after the bronze of Gabriel Lopes António José Silva, president of the Portuguese Swimming Federation, in statements to Rádio Observador.
Another national record, a historic medal: Diogo Ribeiro wins bronze in the 50m butterfly at the European Championships
“It is a generation that makes us all dream. It is not my intention, it is not the intention of the Federation, it is a national objective, which is to have representatives of Portugal on the most important stages of international competitions, in this case swimming. We are talking about the European Championships, but the our goal is to have this same representation at the World Championships and at the Olympic Games. That’s what we work for, that’s why we do what we do every day to guarantee the best conditions for athletes. Athletes are not born by spontaneous generations, some are lucky enough to have these spontaneously generated athletes,” he continued, before explaining what has changed over time.
In Portugal, as we are fewer and resources are scarcer, it is necessary to have a well-defined and well-designed strategy to capture and frame the best and so that, within the appropriate technical, scientific, cultural context, lifestyle, linkage with the university and the school, to achieve great goals, results in international competitions as was the case”, highlighted the leader of the Swimming Federation.
The half hour of affirmation of a project: Gabriel Lopes, Ana Catarina Monteiro and João Costa in the European final
“Medals at the Olympics? You have to go step by step… Everything needs systematization and stabilization of results. We will not go from 11th place, which was the best result we had in the last Olympic Games, a semifinal, to the medals… We have to do a systematic process. The objective, obviously, is to fight for the final, but as is also obvious, when they get there, they all have arms, legs, muscles, joints, tendons and they work for the highest, whether they are first, second or third among the medalists. feet should be firm on the ground, go step by step. The work is being done, it is a new generation of young swimmers and we believe that we can achieve these results, fight for the final”, concluded António José Silva at the end of the Pure European Swimming Championships.
Source: Observadora
