Portugal finished the 2nd edition of the World Trisomy Games, in Antalya, Turkey, with a total of 42 medals: 17 gold, 13 silver and 12 bronze.
On Thursday, the first day of competition, Portugal won 11 medals. The table tennis team (João Soldado Gonçalves, João Oliveira, João Miguel Gonçalves and Pedro Azevedo) was world champion by beating France in the final 3-0, after defeating Turkey in the semi-finals (3-0) and Macau, Great Britain and Italy, all 3-1, in the group stage. There were also five medals in swimming, with gold and world record for Vicente Pereira (100m freestyle), gold for João Vaz in the 200m breaststroke, silver for Diogo Matos in the same event, bronze for Matilde Gaspar in the 200m breaststroke (with national record) and gold in the 4×100 styles relay, with a world record. In judo, there were also five medals on the first day, for Cláudia Gaspar (T21 -57kg), Maria Ribeiro (T21 -63kg) and Paulo Lemos (T21 -100kg) and silver for Diogo Côrte (mosaic -73kg) and Paulo Lino (T21 – 66kg).
On Friday, Portugal added nine more medals (four golds, two silvers and three bronzes). The biggest highlight was swimming, with three gold medals, two of them by Vicente Pereira (200m freestyle and 50m butterfly) and one by Diogo Matos (100m breaststroke), in addition to the bronze by João Vaz (100m breaststroke). In table tennis, João Soldado Gonçalves and João Oliveira won in men’s doubles and João Soldado also achieved silver in mixed doubles, with Leisan Zaripova. In athletics, Beatriz Bastos (women’s 100m mosaic) and Maria Vicente (women’s 400m T21) achieved bronzes. In judo, Portugal achieved silver in mixed teams.
On the third day, on Saturday, Portugal won seven medals, five of them in athletics: Beatriz Bastos won gold in the long jump and silver in the women’s 200m mosaic and there were also three bronzes, by Francisco Gouveia in the 1,500m walk, by Jennifer Nogueira in the 1,500m. m T21 march and the men’s 4x100m relay made up of João Machado, Vasco Avelino, Nélson Silva and Luís Gonçalves. Swimming gave two more medals, with Diogo Matos’ gold in the 50m breaststroke and Francisco Montes’ silver in the 800m freestyle.
On Sunday, seven more medals, four of them in swimming and three in athletics. In swimming, Vicente Pereira won gold with a world record in the 100m butterfly, André Almeida was silver in the 400m style and bronze in the 200m backstroke and the 4×200 freestyle relay (André Almeida, Francisco Montes, Diogo Matos and Vicente Pereira) was silver. In athletics, João Machado won silver in triathlon (men’s T21) and Beatriz Bastos silver in women’s mosaic. Francisco Gouveia won bronze in the men’s 1,500m mosaic.
This Monday, Portugal ended with eight medals, reaching 42 in the competition. Highlights at the end of the Games were João Machado (gold in the shot put) and, in swimming, Vicente Pereira’s gold in the 50m freestyle, the gold in the 4x100m freestyle relay with a national record, Francisco Montes’ silver in the 1,500m and the bronze of João Vaz in the 200m freestyle. In Türkiye, Vicente Pereira was elected the best swimmer of the Games. In athletics, Francisco Gouveia was bronze in the 800m mosaic and the women’s 4×400 relay composed of Maria Câmara, Maria Vicente, Ana Alexandrino and Jennifer Nogueira was bronze. In table tennis, in men’s singles, João Soldado won silver.
The Portuguese mission included teams and representatives in athletics, swimming, futsal, judo and table tennis.
The Portuguese delegation thus surpasses the 33 medals won in the first edition of the World Trisomy Games, held in Florence, in 2016. The 2nd edition, in Turkey, initially scheduled for 2020, was postponed due to Covid-19.
The Portuguese representation was in charge of the National Association of Sports for Intellectual Development (ANDDI-Portugal), by delegation of powers from the Portuguese Federation of Sports for People with Disabilities (FPDD), with the athletics and swimming teams being the responsibility of the respective sports federations.
This is the world’s largest sporting event for athletes with Down Syndrome.
On Tuesday, the return to Portugal will take place, with some swimmers scheduled to arrive at 11:25 am, according to ANNDI. A larger group arrives in Lisbon at 3:20 pm and the last one in Porto, at 3:25 pm.
