Portugal at the World Championships with eyes in the finals and collective medals
Portugal goes to the World Championships on trampolines with the objective of reaching a final and fighting for a medal in the teams, in the men’s variant, and “closer to the finalists” in the women’s competition.
“The first objective is to guarantee presence in the semifinals, which the 24 best reach, then try to reach the final”, Diogo Abreu told the Lusa agency, recalling that Portugal is strongly committed to the team competition.
Sporting’s gymnast, who attended the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, is joined by fellow club members Diogo Ganchinho, Pedro Ferreira and Rúben Tavares, as well as Ricardo Santos (GCST) and Lucas Santos (CTS).
“We have a strong and experienced team, so we are committed to reaching the final and, who knows, getting a team medal,” explained the gymnast, who finished the competition in 11th position in Tokyo, after have been 16th at the Rio2016 Games.
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Qualifying for the team final, which is done by adding the three best scores from the two qualifying series of the individual competition, is also an objective for Diogo Ganchinho.
“We have a very experienced and consistent team, there is great expectation of being in the team final and fighting for a medal”, said the gymnast, who was European champion in the individual variant in 2018.
At the age of 34, Diogo Ganchinho, who was present at the Beijing2008 and Londres2012 Games, assumes, at an individual level, the ambition of reaching “the 24 best and then doing the best possible”.
Ganchinho, who was present at the Beijing2008 and Londres2012 Games and was fifth at the World Cups in 2013, is not thinking, for now, of leaving high-level competition.
“When I was in charge, I saw in gymnastics a way of being creative, innovating and doing different things. I want to continue to progress, I live competition a lot, competition for me is joy. The ambition remains at its maximum, I have a career that speaks for itself, I want to contribute to medals and titles and for the name of Portuguese gymnastics to be recognized”, he said.
On the female side, Beatriz Martins assumes that her main objective in the individual competition “is to be present in the semifinals”, while in the synchronized one, in which she will compete alongside Catarina Nunes, she intends to “come closer to the finalists”, in a competition in which they compete together for the first time.
Beatriz Martins assumes “the will to have a clean competition with the highest quality possible” and recalls that, in terms of collective competition, “Portugal has a very young team”.
Between Thursday and Sunday, Portugal will be represented at the Baku World Championships, in Azerbaijan, by 22 gymnasts, in male and female trampoline, double mini-trampoline and tumbling variants, which score points for the complete (versatile) competition.
In 2018, the year in which the complete competition was held for the first time, Portugal achieved the silver medal, just behind China, a feat that Diogo Ganchinho, Diogo Abreu and Beatriz Monteiro believe is possible to repeat.
Female trampoline: Beatriz Martins (LGC), Mariana Carvalho (GSC), Sofia Correia (SCP) and Catarina Nunes (LGC).
Male trampoline: Diogo Abreu (SCP), Diogo Ganchinho (SCP), Pedro Ferreira (SCP), Ricardo Santos (GCST), Ruben Tavares (SCP) and Lucas Santos (CTS).
Double female mini-trampoline: Sara Guido (LGC), Inês Martins (CEDF) and Maria Carvalho (TCL)
Male mini-trampoline: Tiago Romão (LGC), Diogo Cabral (AAE), Diogo Fernandes (AAC) and André Nunes (SCP).
Female Tumbling: Francisca Pinto (AAC).
Men’s Tumbling: João Saraiva (AAC), Henrique Nascimento (ACC), Peso Vasco (SFEM) and André Palma (SFEM).