Portuguese swimmer Diogo Cancela broke the world record this Thursday in the 200m butterfly in the S8 Paralympic class, swimming the distance in 02.15.50 minutes in Eindhoven, the Netherlands.
“I am very happy that I broke the world record. The race even got off to a bad start. I don’t know what happened to the referee who started before he got to the block. I didn’t let it affect me, I tried to forget. The judge apologized to me. I focused on the race, on what I talked with my coaches, Gonçalo Neves and Vitor Ferreira. I did my best from start to finish,” said Diogo Cancela.
The swimmer from Luzan/Efapelle, already holding minimums for the 2024 Paralympics in Paris, beat the previous maximum set on April 2, 2022 by Pole Michal Golus (2.18.82) by a large margin, more than three seconds slower than the mark from Portugal
“The last 50 meters were important to support the team, I saw how they pushed me. I heard noise. Portuguese Swimming Federation (FPN).
Cansela joins Marco Menezes, world record holder in the 200m and 50m backstroke in S11, in the world’s fastest adapted swimming table.
“I’m doing this a little for Gonzalo, who couldn’t be here with us for health reasons. I want to do my best for my coaches. I want it to be a team effort. World Cup,” he said.
Until the end of the competition, the athlete guaranteed that he “will try to do a minimum of 100 butterfly”, which is the minimum that he lacks from the three events that he intends to swim at the Paralympic Games.
“I’m going to focus for the rest of the week. I take this record as a learning experience and a great motivation for improvement,” he concluded.
The 2023 Eindhoven qualifier runs from today to Sunday and has already set Franziska Martins’ national record in the 200m freestyle, with the 20-year-old Portuguese woman becoming the first Portuguese woman to swim the distance under two years. minutes (1.59.88).
Author: Portuguese
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.