Athlete Miguel Monteiro, Paralympic champion and world record holder in the F40 shot put, was honored today by the Municipality of Viseu, in front of thousands of athletes who participated in the half marathon and alongside another Olympic champion from Viseu, Carlos Lopes.
“It is great to be honored here in Viseu and it is also a reward for the work carried out throughout this entire cycle”, Miguel Monteiro acknowledged to journalists, after the tribute from the Municipality of Viseu.
Miguel Monteiro also said that, since he arrived, he has been “very questioned” by people and that this “is very good” in his opinion, because “it is a sign that Paralympic sport is being noticed by the Portuguese”.
“And it is a sign that the Portuguese are also supporting Paralympic sport so that in the future we can achieve more and better results than we do now”, argued the shot put athlete.
The tribute by the president of the Viseu City Council, Fernando Ruas, took place at the Feira de São Mateus, about an hour before the start of the 41st edition of the half marathon, this year, named after Carlos Lopes, the first Portuguese Olympic champion, after winning the marathon in Los Angeles in 1984.
Today, Carlos Lopes, from Vildemoinhos, in Viseu, was also present at the São Mateus Fair and witnessed the tribute, which was a source of “great honor” for Miguel Monteiro.
“[Carlos Lopes] He always gave me words of encouragement and always told me not to give up”, acknowledged Miguel Monteiro who, along with the 77-year-old marathon runner, says they have in common “a lot of work in all the training” they carry out.
A “very intense and, at times, quite hard work, which if it hadn’t happened, it certainly wouldn’t have been possible to achieve” the gold medal and the world record in shot put.
The mayor of Viseu, Fernando Ruas, told Lusa news agency that he wanted to pay tribute to Miguel Monteiro at the Feira de São Mateus, “taking advantage of the marathon, in front of thousands of athletes, in a year in which Viseu is the European City of Sport”.
“In addition to increasing the recognition, we brought together two Olympic champions in an event that brings together thousands of athletes and is also a way of encouraging them,” said Fernando Ruas.
The 41st Carlos Lopes half marathon brought together thousands of people from all over the country and others from 21 countries, from three continents, in Viseu today, in the half marathon, mini-marathon, adapted athletics and walking events.
Miguel Monteiro was born in Viseu 23 years ago, learned violin at the Azeredo Perdigão Music Conservatory in Viseu, also practiced swimming in Viseu and has now completed his master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Aveiro.
He lives in Mangualde, a municipality neighboring the district of Viseu, his parents’ hometown and the city where he grew up and which he represents through the Casa do Povo de Mangualde. He has already received a phone call from the mayor of Mangualde, Marco Almeida, congratulating him on the medal and scheduling a “more formal ceremony”.
Miguel Monteiro, a short athlete who had won bronze at the Tokyo 2020 Games, led for almost the entire competition, in which Mongolian Battulga Tsegmid (11.09) took silver and Iraqi Garrah Tnaiash (11.03) took bronze.
The Portuguese athlete, who started the competition with a zero throw, ‘grabbed’ the gold in the third attempt, with 11.21, after having scored 11.02 in the second.
The Portuguese, world record holder (11.60), scored 11.00 on his third throw, 11.17 on his fourth and scored a null on his last throw.
