Portugal NOC gathers more than 100 young athletes at the National Meeting of Olympic Hopes

More than 100 athletes and coaches gathered at the National Meeting of Olympic Hopes, organized by the Portugal NOC on 21 and 22 of January 2023, which prepares young hopefuls for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles 2028 and Brisbane 2032.

Patrícia Mamona, silver medallist in Tokyo 2020, and Telma Monteiro, bronze medallist in Rio 2016, were present to share their Olympic experiences and inspire all those who were present.

The Triple Jump specialist presented “The way to the podium in Tokyo 2020” together with her coach, José Uva. “It was the ‘mindset’ that had a great evolution. In Rio (2016) I was not as confident as in Tokyo. I thought that only the others achieved good marks. I learned to be confident”, said Mamona.

Closing the weekend, the Portuguese judoka participated in the “Olympic conversations”, presented by Marco Alves, director of the Department of Missions and Olympic Preparation of the Portugal NOC. “The most important thing for me were not the medals, but the way I managed to win them, that’s my legacy. It’s not just winning, people won’t just remember the medals, but my image, that’s the legacy I want to leave”, shared Monteiro.

On the first day of the weekend, athletes took part in activities related to Olympic Education, Integrity, Nutrition, Communication and the fight against doping. The coaches participated in the “Olympic Hopes” seminar and in the “Evaluation and Control of Training” workshop.

On the second day, evaluation and training control tests were carried out for the athletes in the laboratory at the Jamor high performance centre.

Athletes from the following sports and disciplines participated in the National Meeting of Olympic Hopes: Handball, Athletics, Badminton, Canoeing, Cycling, Breaking, Gymnastics, Golf, Judo, Swimming, Skateboarding, Modern Pentathlon, Rowing, Surfing, Tennis, Table Tennis, Archery, Triathlon, Sailing and Volleyball.