Brazilian Isaquias Queiroz Takes Canoeing to the Olympic Elite
"I'm going to the Olympics to get three medals." Isaquias Queiroz, 22, made his Olympic ambitions almost a mantra in the recent months.
Driven by six medals in world championships between 2013 and 2015, and benefited by a change in the calendar won by the Brazilian confederation, which fit him like a glove, the athlete from Bahia State was cut out for a feat in 2016.
Making the favoritism reality, however, would be a different story. And this Tuesday (16) would be crucial for him to prove himself.
In the the C1 1,000m final, he had at his side the current Olympic and world champion, the German Sebastian Brendel.
Queiroz, it is worth remembering, was making his debut in the Olympics. In other words, there was a real possibility of capitulation.
In 3min58s529, Isaquias erased any suspicion and kept alive the hope for his "triple crown". He finished behind Brendel, who completed 1,000 m in 3min56s926. The Moldovan Serghei Tarnovschi won bronze.
As he climbed on the podium to receive the medal, under the eyes of his mother, Dilma, and other family members, the young canoeist has broken some paradigms.
First, he gave Brazilian canoeing the first Olympic medal in all time. Second, he inserted Brazil and the continent in a sport largely dominated by European athletes.
He will take part of the C1 200m elimination race on Wednesday (17), at 9:23 a.m. If he wins, he will fight for medal on Thursday (18). On Friday (19) and Saturday (20), he and Erlon Souza compete in the C2 1,000m.
Translated by MARINA DELLA VALLE