Of the 811 Olympic athletes still alive for Portugal, about 200 represented Portugal in track and field, the modality that won the most medals in 113 years. In terms of clubs, Sporting is the one that has loaned the most top athletes to the country and also the one that has given the most medals to win.
These data are part of a study by the Association of Olympic Athletes for Portugal (AAOP), to which DN had access, which will be presented on the 8th in Matosinhos at the Association’s 20th anniversary ceremony led by Luís. Monteiro, also an Olympian participating in the pentathlon of the historic Los Angeles Games in 1984 – the competition of the first Portuguese gold won by Carlos Lopes.
Developed by the Higher Institute of Economics and Management (ISEG), the Olympians database aims to answer the most frequently asked questions – where are the athletes, what are they doing and who needs help. It was to reach out to those in a weak spot, whether financially, physically or psychologically, that the AAOP moved on to the global survey of athletes defending the national colors. Now it is possible to know that, for example, about 10% are unemployed and about 5% live abroad.
Retirees, doctors, coaches…
The post career is one of AAOP’s struggles. Founded in 2003, the association continues to receive dozens of requests for help from athletes in difficulty. The unemployed are in the 10%. Retired people, those who have become coaches and those who are entrepreneurs in their own name represent half of the universe of the Olympic Games in Portugal.
Not everyone was ready to say goodbye to the competition and the institutions offered no professional opportunities. But there are many good examples. Alexandre Yokochi (58 years old) is a university professor and researcher in energy efficiency at Baylor University, USA. In 1984, he became the first (and only) Portuguese to reach an Olympic swimming final – placing 7th in the 200m breaststroke. He retired from the pools in 1992 at just 27 years old and went to Texas to earn his PhD, remaining there to this day.
Gentil Martins is now 92 years old and was one of the founders of AAOP. He became a renowned plastic surgeon and pediatric surgeon after participating in the 1960 Rome shooting. Paulo Trindade (former swimmer) is an engineer in Oman and António Abrantes (former sprinter) is a university professor in Nancy, France. Sameiro Araújo (63 years old) is a coach and Vice-President of the City Council of Braga and Vice-President of the Portuguese Olympic Committee. Rui Frazão (former judoka) is an engineer and works in Germany. Francis Obikwelu (44 years old) won silver in the 100 meters in Athens 2004, and today he is a coach and businessman, working for Vitória de Setúbal’s SAD.
And then there are the disappeared. Some by choice, others not so much. There are two or three cases in urgent need of financial help and only two unreachable athletes: the sprinters Lucrécia Jardim (52 years old) and Luís Cunha (59 years old).
100% of the gold comes from athletics
Portugal has been represented in 25 editions of the Olympic Games in 29 sports. Athletics is king and lord. Almost a quarter of the athletes who wore the bends did so during track and field, a modality that also dominates in terms of medals (11 out of 28), which owns 100% of the gold medals – Carlos Lopes (marathon, Los Angeles84), Rosa Mota (marathon, Seoul88), Fernanda Ribeiro (10 thousand meters Sidnei2000), Nelson Évora (triple jump Beijing2008) and Pedro Pichardo (triple jump Tokyo2020). By the way, these are the only Olympic champions in Portuguese sport.
Swimming is the second most attended sport, followed by sailing (the second most awarded medal, with four podiums), fencing and equestrian, which won its first medal in 1924 – a bronze, won by António Borges d’Almeida, Hélder de Souza Martins, Luis Cardoso Meneses and Jose Mouzinho d’Albuquerque.
Shooting, rowing, judo, gymnastics and canoeing, which has come to expression in recent years with canoeists such as Fernando Pimenta (two-time medalist), are also among the most represented modalities.
In terms of medals, Portugal has 28 Olympic podiums: five gold, nine silver and 14 bronze. In Tokyo 2020, Portugal won four, a record: Pedro Pichardo (gold), Patrícia Mamona (silver), Jorge Fonseca (bronze) and Fernando Pimenta (bronze).
Sporting gave more athletes and medals
Sporting was the club that donated the most athletes to Portugal, as far as the Olympic Games are concerned. A little behind athletics and Moniz Pereira’s heyday, the Lions Club was the one that appeared most often on admission forms, followed by Benfica and Belenenses. Sporting also took care of the most medals (5), followed by Benfica (3), FC Porto and CAP (2 each).
Nearly 50% of Olympians in Portugal come from the Lisbon region, also the most representative municipality, followed by Oeiras, Cascais and Porto. Vila Real and São Miguel are at the bottom of the list with less than half of 1%. But quantity is not quality. Viseu saw the birth of Portugal’s first Olympic champion, Carlos Lopes, but it is one of the districts that has produced the fewest top athletes in the country. Funchal sits in the middle of the table and is proud to have seen the birth of the athlete with the most appearances. The now 44-year-old sailor João Rodrigues has seven participations in the Olympic Games in his curriculum as an athlete and one more as an Olympic attaché (Tokyo 2020). He is currently a member of the Portuguese Olympic Committee (COP).
Two pioneers have already died
Women’s participation began in 1952, 40 years after Portugal’s debut at the 1912 Stockholm Olympics. Gymnasts Dália Cunha, Natalia Cunha and Laura Amorim were the pioneers – competing in the individual competition of applied gymnastics. After them, another 135 women (including three in winter sports) followed suit, but the female universe represents only 16% of the Portuguese Olympic Games.
Of the 138 women who represented the country in the largest sports competition in the world, four have already died: sisters Dália and Natalia Cunha, volleyball player Cristina Pereira and pitcher Teresa Machado. The first women’s medal appeared only 32 years after Helsinki. Rosa Mota won bronze in the Los Angeles Marathon in 1984 and is also the owner of her first gold (marathon, Seoul 1988).
Of the five medalists in history, two are still active: Telma Monteiro (bronze in judo, Rio 2016) and Patrícia Mamona (silver in triple jump, Tokyo 2020). The other two are Fernanda Ribeiro (10 thousand metres, Sydney 2000) and Vanessa Fernandes (triathlon, Beijing 2008).
Source: DN
