“At the moment, I am still a bit emotional. I think that today, here, we did something that we never imagined doing in our lives, in Portuguese gymnastics. I think we excelled at every level and I am very proud of our work.”
Filipa Martins was a happy face as she walked through the mixed zone at the Arena Bercy, the artistic gymnastics venue at the Paris 2024 Olympic Games.
“I was about to cry there, but I tried to contain myself because it was hard to breathe at that time. But I am very proud of what we did here today. I think we can dream of the final, we have to wait until the end of the day. Of course there were things we could have done a little bit better, we athletes always want more too, but we are very satisfied with today’s competition, very.”
The 28-year-old Portuguese was the first gymnast – listed in the third section of the qualification – to enter the Bercy Arena, where he was applauded enthusiastically by the spectators.
The historic Portuguese gymnast, dressed in bright green, began the heats on horseback with a jump that left her with a big smile, earning 14.133 points and shouts of “Bora Filipa” coming from the stands.
“I’ve probably been training for that jump since 2014 or 2015, but it’s such a risky jump that we’re always afraid to put it in competition, so, at 28, I put it in competition… I don’t have that. I think my coach and I [José Ferreirinha] We were a little bit scared, because it was a very difficult and very risky jump.”
The jump, called the “double-rotation Yurchenko,” which made gymnast Acro Clube da Maia smile, consists of “a round with a ‘tap’ over the table and a somersault with two rotations.”
“We were able to overcome that first machine and that very difficult step was very good and very positive and I think in the end it gave us a little bit of strength for the rest as well,” he admitted after completing his qualifying section.
Always standing, Martins watched his “rivals” perform on horseback, an apparatus in which he outperformed Panama’s Hilary Herron and Colombia’s Luisa Blanco, but not North Korea’s An Chang Ok (14.183).
On the uneven bars, his specialty, he wasted time cleaning the bars completely, before executing a confident “clean” exercise, earning a 13.800, the best result of the four.
“It was my best score this year, but I felt I could have done a little better. […]“I think I had actually taken slightly better tests and got a lower score, so we were satisfied with the grade.”
Before the beam, she trained her balance and routine, sometimes with her back to the apparatus, without stopping for a minute in the same spot, unlike the other gymnasts in her group, who would sit quietly and watch others perform.
While waiting for action to be taken – alone with the Japanese gymnasts next to this “forced” – he rubbed his hands repeatedly, did small jumps, and took a deep breath, in anticipation of the exercise in which a slight imbalance resulted in a score of 12,600.
“The beam was a bit like what happened in Rio de Janeiro, because I was also the last one in the competition and I also spent a long time waiting. “The beam is always the beam, I could have made more contacts there, but the important thing is not to fall.”
With epic music, he performed his solo, which received a rating of 12.633, looking visibly happy, melting into the arms of his coach, José Ferreira.
After finishing a historic 17th at Tokyo 2020, the Portuguese gymnast is now hoping her third Olympic appearance will earn her a place in the final, with qualifying still ongoing.
“Now it’s time to enjoy the family here, the number of Portuguese I saw in the stands, who felt like I was at home, was very, very good. “It’s about enjoying and seeing the other competitions as well, and everything that comes after will be great, because I am very satisfied with the race I did today, beyond words, and for me it was the pinnacle.”
Filipa Martins believes her historic leap could also open up opportunities in Portugal, explaining that it is possible “not only to do what we are used to”.
“We need a lot more training, we need a lot of support and we don’t have it, so these processes take time and little by little I think Portugal is growing a lot in our sport and still doesn’t have a lot of support yet. So it’s historic not only for what we’ve done here, but also for the lack of support we’ve had, and we’ve been able to do it.”
AMG // GP
Lusa / The End
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