Portugal is enjoying one of its best Olympic performances in years, with three medals (one silver and two bronze) already ‘in the bag’ and realistic hopes of adding another to the tally.
Judoka Jorge Fonseca was the first Portuguese athlete to make the Olympic podium, winning bronze in the -100kg category of the Olympic judo competition last week.
A two-time world champion, Fonseca admitted that he wanted to win the gold medal – a goal he vowed to achieve at the 2024 Paris Olympics.
Portugal’s second Olympic medal was won on Sunday by triple jumper Patrícia Mamona, who set a new national record of 15.01m to win silver in the women’s triple jump contest.
She was only beaten by Venezuelan triple jumper Yulimar Rojas, who put on an incredible performance and set a new world record with a 15.67m jump.
The third Olympic medal came in the early hours of Monday morning as Fernando Pimenta finished third in the Olympic men’s kayak single 1000m competition, winning Portugal’s second bronze medal.
Hopes are that the national medal count will increase to at least four as Pedro Pablo Pichardo, a Cuban-born athlete who started representing Portugal in 2017, is considered one of the favourites to win the men’s triple jump competition, having qualified for the final with the best jump by far (17.71m).
The final will be held at 3am (Portuguese time) on Thursday (August 5).
