‘Sad moment’: Fernando Pimenta, disconsolate over sixth place, says he is ‘eternally grateful to the Portuguese’

Canoeist Fernando Pimenta was disappointed on Saturday with his sixth place in the K1 1000m final at the 2024 Paris Olympics, but said he had a clear conscience about the work he had done.

“I worked very hard, maybe I had one of my best seasons, but it was exactly like what happened in Rio de Janeiro. I think the harder I try, the faster the result disappears. I can’t be disappointed or sad about myself. I have a clear conscience that I did everything I could,” he said in the end.

Winner of two Olympic medals – silver in the 1000km in London in 2012 with Emanuel Silva and bronze in the 1000m in Tokyo in 2020 – the 34-year-old canoeist from Limiano admitted that this Saturday’s result had nothing to do with the work carried out in recent years.

“Unfortunately, the result is not a reflection of my work. Obviously, all the winning athletes deserve full credit. I felt very good, very calm, I was comfortable and I controlled the race, I did everything that the coach told me. I try to launch the kayak into the water, I rush forward, but, unfortunately, in the final part I did not have enough strength and energy,” he said.

Fernando Pimenta also dedicated a word to his family, admitting that he spent a lot of time away from them last year.

“I spent a lot of time away from my family, away from my babies, I gave up my puppies for days. Last year I was maybe a month old, I missed almost all of my daughter’s school parties, and then to come here and not get the result you want is expensive,” the Benfica canoeist said.

The support received from the Portuguese was not forgotten either: “I just have to be grateful to all the Portuguese who were here, everyone who supported me in Portugal, I think they recognise all the efforts I have made, the legacy that I have won, and now it’s time to tidy up a bit so that I can get back to work within the next week.”

At the Marine Stadium in Vayres-sur-Marne, Pimenta finished the final in 3.29.59 minutes, 5.52 seconds behind the new Olympic champion, Czech Josef Dostal (24.3.07), failing to win his third Olympic medal.

The podium was completed by two Hungarians: Adam Varga (3.24.76) won silver and Balint Kopas (3.25.68) won bronze.

Limiano remains one of six Portuguese with two Olympic medals, along with athletes Carlos Lopes, Fernando Ribeiro and Rosa Mota, as well as racing driver Luis Mena e Silva and Pedro Pichardo, who won silver on Friday in the triple jump.