Vasco Vilaza and Ricardo Batista have won Olympic diplomas with their superb performances in triathlon at the 2024 Olympic Games.

Vasco Vilaça and Ricardo Batista were seconds away from bronze in the triathlon at the 2024 Olympic Games in Paris this Wednesday, making the race their asset to win two diplomas for Portugal and open up promising hopes for the mixed relay.

Vilasa was fifth, 23 seconds behind Britain’s Alex Yee, who won in 01:43.33, while Batista was nearly two seconds behind his compatriot and friend, with whom he was locked in an embrace on the blue carpet covering the Alexandre III Bridge, the start and finish point of the Paris 2024 triathlon.

The two Portuguese newcomers, 13 and 15 seconds behind bronze medallist Leo Berger of France, secured two more diplomas for Portugal (positions up to eighth place) and helped to chart a new happy path for the national triathlon, which today also saw Maria Tomé take 11th place in the women’s race.

Vilasa and Batista fell behind in the swim, took up the bike again, lost the final transition, but gradually regained their positions as the race progressed, covering the last two kilometers together.

The 24-year-old triathlete emerged victorious in the final sprint, but later “paid” for his efforts: he had to go to a medical centre to bring down his temperature during the “stuffy” journey through Paris.

Shortly after Maria Tomé and Melanie Santos finished their performance, two Portuguese, who were due to compete the day before but saw their race postponed until today due to poor water quality in the Seine, dove into the river in the French capital.

The 1500m swim left us behind compared to those ahead: Vasco Vilaça was 26th, 53 seconds behind the then leader, Austrian Tjebbe Kaindl, and Ricardo Batista was two places behind, one minute.

Once 23-year-old Batista had recovered, he set to work pushing the approach to the front of the race: first, the two joined a second group that worked well together, even managing to join the peloton.

The strategy worked, and by the end of the 40-kilometer bike race, the 32 triathletes were separated by less than 10 seconds. However, the Portuguese found themselves outside the top 20 at the transition.

In a race with a constant change of leadership, the 10km distance was decisive: Hayden Wild isolated himself and looked to have won the gold, but Alex Yee overtook him in the final metres. The New Zealander finished second, six seconds behind the Olympic champion, with Bergere on the podium 10 seconds behind.

Not only does Vasco Vilaça’s result today match the best result ever for a male triathlete at the Olympic Games (João Pereira was fifth at Rio 2016), but both are also fulfilling the Portuguese Mission’s dream in the mixed relay on August 5.