Historic! Diogo Ribeiro won the silver medal in the 50m butterfly at the 2023 Fukuoka World Swimming Championships. To date, the best result by a Portuguese swimmer at a World Championship was Alexandre Yokochi’s 5th place in the 200 breaststroke in Madrid in 1986.
“I’m speechless! I still can’t believe it. It’s a dream come true! I knew I could dream. Watch it race by race. Stay focused and give it your all!” said the 18-year-old.
A historic achievement by the junior world record holder for the distance, who had already made history by becoming the third national swimmer to reach a final, after Alexandre Yokochi and Ana Barros, and now achieved the first world podium for Portuguese swimming by finishing the event in second place with 22.80 seconds… new record for Portugal.
This is Diogo Ribeiro’s second medal in senior competitions, after finishing third at the 2022 European Championships in Rome, over the same distance, to take bronze.
In the final of the 50 meter butterfly, Italian Thomas Ceccon took the gold and Frenchman Maxime Grousset was behind the Portuguese and took the bronze.
In the 100-meter backstroke, João Costa set the 16th time in the semifinals (54.30 seconds). In the qualifiers, the Portuguese finished in 53.71, the record and Portugal’s Olympic qualification for Paris 2024.
Source: DN
