A bad night's sleep, another (bronze) day to remember
Paris was almost a year ago, but Paris still lives on in Fernando Pimenta's mind. He lives in the bad, he lives in the good – it's true that the possibility of a third Olympic medal slipped away, but the way he was "supported" in the end by family, teammates, opponents, and mere fans of the sport showed that the Portuguese athlete has long been on the top step of canoeing. That's also why his victories in the K1 1,000 and K1 5,000 at the last European Championships in June served as a balm for this second life for the Limiano, who will arrive at the Los Angeles Olympic Games (whether he participates or not) at the age of 39.
"These are very special medals because they come after a less than ideal time at the Games. Especially since this year [2025] I barely competed. 2024 was very draining, both physically and emotionally, and I even considered not competing again, at least at the highest level. These two weeks, in Ponte de Lima and now in the Czech Republic, are the answer to what my career still needs to be. Winning two European titles at home [Ponte de Lima, in marathons] was very special, even more so returning a week and a half later and winning two more titles," he noted after those triumphs in Racice, one of which was in the event where he attempted to win his third Olympic medal in Paris, the K1 1,000 meters.
"This is proof that the more relaxed and happy I am, the better I perform. Some coaches from other teams even commented that they noticed a different smile on my face. I'm usually quite extroverted, but this time they noticed I was even more relaxed than usual," he said. And that was what Pimenta was now trying to extend for another World Cup in his long career, where he would have the opportunity to fight to regain a title he won in the last edition in 2023, beating Ádam Varga and Jakob Thordsen in the final, and which he had won three times in his career (2018, 2021, and 2023).
"My current form is in happy mode. I've had moments when I wasn't feeling so good emotionally, but my physique made up for it. Now I'm doing well physically, emotionally, and psychologically. I think that's the most important thing for me at this stage of my career. More than winning medals or being world champion, it's the feeling of finishing the regatta and saying, 'It felt good, I enjoyed doing this race.' I was happy with every paddle stroke. I think that, at this stage of my career, is one of the most important things I can have. It's having fun, competing, and then the results will certainly come. But I'll add: I'm exhausted. My lungs are already burning...", commented Fernando Pimenta, 36, in statements to the Lusa news agency.
The qualifying round was almost like a final . In the second semi-final, Fernando Pimenta finished with the second-fastest time and qualified for the decisive race, finishing behind the 2020 Olympic champion, Hungarian Balint Kopasz, but ahead of the 2024 Olympic champion, Czech Josef Dostal. "All three on the podium? There's a high probability of that happening. It wouldn't be the first time, nor the second or third. These are very experienced athletes in this type of event... The only one who wasn't an Olympic champion was me, but that's a thing of the past, and now the important thing is to continue the path I've been following calmly and put on an excellent show for the spectators. It's going to be another day at the office, quite demanding, not only physically but also psychologically," noted the Limiano.
Champion Fernando Pimenta qualified for the K1 1,000 final at the Milan World Championships
The night wasn't easy; the day started early. After being forced to change rooms in the early hours of the morning due to noise from a nearby bar, the Portuguese athlete achieved another goal this morning by sealing his place in the K1 500 final. In the early afternoon, in the K1 1,000 final, all the effort ended up taking a toll, but that didn't stop the athlete from winning his 21st World Championship medal: Olympic champion Balant Kopasz won, but Fernando Pimenta still secured bronze.
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