“Having seven Portuguese sprinters in the European Athletics Championships on the indoor track is unique and historic. In the case of the women’s 60 meters, they all managed to qualify directly, it was not because of quotas or ranking, it was a great credit to them , which is extraordinary”. The words are from national speed coach, João Abrantes, who confessed to DN that both Lorene Bazolo, Rosalina Santos and Arialis Gandulla “could reach a final” in the Europeans starting Thursday in Istanbul, Turkey. Portugal defends three titles: Pedro Pichardo (triple jump), Patrícia Mamona (triple jump) and Auriol Dongmo (shot put).
The trio’s merit goes beyond the results. It is necessary to look at what is behind each brand of these athletes to understand what they went through to be at the top and arrive in Istanbul in a position to shine. From surviving a civil war, dealing with a tumor, overcoming a pregnancy or juggling a mission to save lives with an athletic career. And all with this difficulty in common: overcoming the lack of documents and the stigma of being Portuguese who were not born in Portugal.
Source: DN
