The president of the Portuguese Swimming Federation (FPN) does not hide his enthusiasm with the results of Diogo Ribeiro in the junior swimming world championships, and explains that the athlete has an Olympic participation on the horizon, the first of his career, in Paris 2024 .
“Diogo already has the minimum for Paris”, explains António Silva to TSF. “At this distance, we can say that it would be very unlikely that Diogo will not be in Paris 2024. We hope that he will be in the Olympics, but not only to participate. Like all other athletes, we want him to be in Paris to galvanize himself, to improve himself ”, points out the head of the federation.
The work of Portuguese swimming is reinforced by the youth world championships in 2022. “The feelings that this participation brings us (in the youth world championships in Lima, Peru) are very positive, not only because of the results of Diogo [Ribeiro]. Of course, the three gold medals and the world record are the icing on the cake, (…) but the results do not come by chance”, he points out. “Congratulations to Portuguese swimming. This only happens in a country with few and few resources for sport, when there is convergence”.
The following strokes must be well measured.
“Diogo is 17 years old. After this emotional catharsis that he had with the results in the junior world championship, he will have a period of rest. With care, so that on the big international stages, European and world championships and the Olympic Games, he can present himself in in full form, in his physical, intellectual and emotional capacities”, explains António Silva about Diogo Ribeiro’s immediate future.
But there is no doubt about the quality of the athlete. “We are in the presence of great talent, but to manifest that talent it is necessary to have the necessary organizational, structural, technical, scientific and technological conditions”, guarantees the head of the federation. “That is what we try to do by creating the high-performance training center in Jamor, with a reference technical team, which has trained world champions, world record holders and Olympic champions.”
An aid for athletes who prepare with the support of the federation. “It has a scientific support framework with the University of Coimbra and with the biomechanics department of the University of Porto”, explains the head of the federation, currently also president of the European Swimming League.
In Rio Maior, the federation found a place for the development of athletes with potential, work that continues in the national training centers in Jamor and Coimbra – currently with three athletes, Gabriel Lopes, Camila Rebelo and Diogo Cancela.
“Diogo did not come to Rio Maior. The potential was so high that we decided to place him immediately in the national reference center. Our high performance plan in the development of athletes is assumed by the Portuguese Swimming Federation”, he explains. Anthony Silva. “The national sport is what it is, the result of the great work of athletes, clubs, associations and the federation, and that demands an effort from other authorities that is not proven”.
Diogo Ribeiro is only 17 years old and is already in the history of world swimming. Diogo Ribeiro won three gold medals at the World Junior Swimming Championships in Lima, Peru, and managed to break the world record in the 50-meter butterfly.
Source: TSF
