Português
Español
With the feat, Isaquias becomes the first Brazilian to win three Olympic medals in the same edition of the Games
In a very disputed race, Isaquias Queiroz and Erlon de Souza took silver in the C2 1,000m of canoeing speed. As a result, Isaquias achieved two unprecedented feats: is the first Brazilian to win three medals in the same edition of the Olympic Games and, at the same time, the first athlete in the history of canoeing, among canoe competitors, ending a participation with three podiums.
“I wanted to win a gold medal, but the silver one is very welcome. My gold came from the public, of the crowd. That was the best medal I won”, celebrated Isaquias at the end of the race, still thrilled to see Lagoa Rodrigo de Freitas crowded with people to cheer for Brazil.
“We know what happened and what happens in the training center. When you reach a final stretch and see that your work has been completed, you can't do anything but thank and be moved”, completed Erlon. According to the athlete, there is no frustration at not being in the highest place on the podium. “It doesn't happen because I fought for gold until the end”, explained the canoeist, who promises to fight for more in Tokyo 2020.
The Brazilian duo led a good part of the race, but was overtaken in the last meters and crossed the finish line in second place in 3min44sec819. Isaquias and Erlon, who are the current world champions, had qualified in first place and arrived as favorites in the Lagoa Stadium. The German duo Sebastian Brendel and Jan Vandrey were the ones who hindered the golden dreams of Brazilians, who made an impressive final sprint and arrived just under 1s before the Brazilians. It is the second time that Brendel is the stone in the shoes of Isaquias in these Games. In the proof of individual canoe (C1) 1.000m, the German also took the gold from the Brazilian in the final strokes.
The feat of Isaquias and Erlon this morning crowns a historic performance for Brazilian canoeing. Before Rio 2016, the sport had never won a medal in Olympic competitions. Now, Brazil has three in one edition - two silver and one bronze, all with the participation of Isaquias. By winning the silver in the individual canoe (C1) 1.000m it's the bronze no individual (C1) 200m, the Bahian had already joined the select group of Brazilian athletes who received two medals in the same edition of the Games: the swimmers Caesar Heaven (2008) and Gustavo Borges (1996), in addition to Afrânio da Costa shooting athletes (1920) and Guilherme Paraense (1920). In this Saturday (20), he achieved an unprecedented feat in Brazilian sport.
