15/01/2023   Porto de Mos (POR): Victories of Joao Vieira and Ines Henriques in 35km national championships of Portugal






 

 

The eighth edition of the National Road Walking Championships for a distance of 35 km ended, a joint organization of the Portuguese Athletics Federation and the District Athletics Association of Leiria, with the support of the Municipality of Porto de Mós, highlighting the results of the national champions, João Vieira and Inês Henriques, in a race that took place in cold weather, but without rain, with the wind making its appearance in the final part.

 

35km men

 

In men's, João Vieira was the outstanding winner of the competition, finishing with a time of 2:36:32, his second best result ever. 

Joao Vieira started with the usual caution, saw the young Pedro Dias (CO Pechão), participant in the 15km extra race, go ahead, isolated, while he stayed next to Rui Coelho (SL Benfica), Hélder Santos (Estreito) and the Hungarian David Kokodi, but for a short time. He increased the pace and joined the young Algarvean, setting a fast pace and leaving his opponents behind. 

Hélder Santos, with a stop in the penalty area, stopped shortly after 12km, and the 2022 champion, Rui Coelho, abandoned after 20km.

 

Competing alone, “the mark is pleasant”, he said, adding that “it's a good indicator, because I look for races that count for the World Ranking, because I need points, to be able to go to the worlds. This is the first of 35km, we will look for another one, not forgetting the competition in 20km races, to gain more intensity”. 

Moreover he add: "The race went as normal, reaching the goals we set. It is another national title, the seventh over 35 km, and so we will continue to cement this path of being the best Portuguese athlete, continue to add titles and records. My way of being in the competition is to always give my best. The time will come to stop, but while I'm here, the idea is to give everything I have to continue at high performance and put on a show on the roads and other walking competitions, feeling good about myself and with all the people who help me to continue so".

 

Results

 

First place to Joao Vieira (POR) in 2:36.32

Second place to David Tokodi (HUN) in 3:04.40 (after a stop in Penalty Zone)

Third place to Manuel Marques (POR) in 3:05.51

 

 

 

 

35km women

 

 

In the women's category, great expectations were raised when it came to the final outcome, with the presence of five Portuguese internationals, the most common in the distance, Inês Henriques, Vitória Oliveira and Sandra Silva, and debutants Ana Cabecinha and Joana Pontes.

The international athletes did most of the race together, with the most experienced and renowned, Inês Henriques (CN Rio Maior) and Ana Cabecinha (CO Pechão) leading the competition. 

Excellent behavior by Ana Cabecinha until 29 km, when she abandoned the race.

From then on, Inês Henriques ran a solitary race, finishing in 2:55:26, a similar mark to last year, when she became champion (and which allows her to participate in the European Championship of Nations, in racewalking).

 

In the end, the athlete was happy with “the title and the mark. Especially this one, because I had some health problems, which is always in the first place, and when we got here I did what we agreed, my coach Jorge Miguel and I, to start calmly and then go up the pace. I felt that the last 3 km were difficult, with some breathing difficulty, but also in the legs, which means that it is a lack of training”.

 

Results

 

First place to Ines Henriques (POR) in 2:55.26

Second place to Vitoria Oliveira (POR) in 3:00:29

Third place to Joana Pontes (POR) in 3:11:35

Fourth place to Sandra Silva (POR) in 3:15.50

 

 

(Photos by FPA)

 

 

 

Official results