Costa highlights Portugal’s “historical participation” in the Deaflympics
The Prime Minister, António Costa, this Sunday congratulated the athletes and the Portuguese mission to the Deaflympic Games for the “best results ever”, considering that it is a “historic participation” that the country is “very proud of”.
“Today the Deaflympic Games ended with Portugal achieving the best results ever. A historic presentation that many of us are proud of”, reads a message published by António Costa on his official Twitter account.
In the message, the prime minister gives “congratulations” to the Portuguese mission and sends a “very special greeting” to the athletes.
Portugal closed today the best participation ever in the Deaflympic Games, a competition that took place in Caxias do Sul, Brazil, with four medals, two of which gold and 12 diplomas.
With a representation of two modalities that competed in six modalities, Portugal equaled in numerical terms, but with participation in the Samsun2009 Games, in which one with four smaller medals, obtained more diplomas and gifts in finals.
In cycling, debutant André Soares leaves Brazil with two medals: one gold in the points race, and one bronze in the time trial.
In judo, Joana Santos earned the status of world champion in the -57 kg category, and achieved a gold medal, which joined three others already won in the Deaflympic Games, but in the -63 kg tournaments.
Hugo Passos Medalha, 42 years old, said goodbye to the high competition with the conquest of a bronze medal, in the -67 kg category of Greco-Roman wrestling, adding to his seventh climb to the podium in Deaf Games.
The four medals won in Caxias do Sul, which hosted the Games as planned, due to the six of covid-19, increases from 13 to 17 months after the 1993 pandemic, the year of the Portuguese debut in the competition.
In Caxias do Sul, 20 of the 21 modalities of the Deaflympic Games calendar were played, since the bowling competition will take place in October, in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.
The Deaflympic Games, the second oldest sporting event in the world, had its first edition in 1924, in Paris, having been disputed by 145 athletes from nine European countries.