Pedro Braz Correia was born in his mother’s hometown of Faro on 17 September 1986, but he has lived his whole life in his father’s hometown of Lagos. He considers growing up in his beautiful city a privilege and recalls with nostalgia the summers spent on the beach playing football with his parents and two brothers.
Both his parents were teachers. Now retired, his father was a primary school teacher specialising in physical education, and his mother was a secondary school Portuguese teacher. They were both fundamental role models in Pedro’s childhood, offering encouragement and support.
Pedro with Tiago Ramos
Pedro’s first great passion was undoubtedly football. However, he always loved running with his father, so athletics gradually aroused his curiosity. Pedro recalls, “I remember watching the 10,000m final of the Atlanta Olympics on television in 1996, which was won by the Portuguese athlete Fernanda Ribeiro, and being fascinated by her brilliant performance. Shortly afterwards, I took part in my first cross-country competitions in school sports and since then I’ve never been far from the world of athletics.”
Pedro won seven titles of Absolute Algarve Champion (800m/1500m), the Algarve record for 600m, the five titles of M35 National Champion (400m/800m) and he came 4th in the 800m and 5th in the 1500m at the M35 European Indoor Track Championships. “I’m very proud of the results I’ve achieved throughout my career as an athlete, as they’ve been the result of a lot of dedication to training.”
His sporting achievement then led Pedro to coaching, and he took the grade 1 athletics coaching course in Faro in 2003. He went to Lisbon in September 2004 to do a degree in cardiac and pulmonary physiology and a master’s degree in high-performance sports. After finishing his master’s degree, he took a teaching role at Vale Verde School and completed his athletics coaching qualifications at levels two and three.
Over the last twenty years, he has worked with athletes from various clubs, including Projecto Novas Descobertas, Royal AXN Lagos, Sport Lisboa e Benfica, Clube de Futebol Esperança de Lagos, Clube de Atletismo de Tunes, Clube Recreativo Cultural e Desportivo Luzense, Clube Recreativo Praia da Salema and Sporting Clube de Portugal.
“I consider myself to have been a talented, hard-working and resilient young athlete. I never had the opportunity to join a training group with a long-term training process that would allow me to make my way to high performance in sports.” This is why Pedro started to dream of creating a club that could help other young athletes to achieve their dreams. On 28 October 2022, he fulfilled the dream of founding the Lacobrigense Athletics Academy.
“My greatest motivation in training children and young people is realising that I have the opportunity to contribute to their overall and harmonious development, physically, intellectually, emotionally and socially, as well as to their civic education.
The greatest victory children and young people can achieve at the start of their athletics journey is to seize the opportunity to live pleasant experiences, make new friends, learn new skills, acquire habits of self-discipline and persistence, and learn to co-operate and compete fairly,” he says. Pedro has even been known to go to his students’ school sporting events to give them his support.
Rita Aling-Dwyer has been training with Pedro along with her son Klaas. “Over the last decade, training with Pedro Braz Correia has been nothing short of life-changing. As an experienced coach, Pedro has shown time and again the profound impact that athletes and trainers can have on our physical, mental and overall well-being. His personalised approach, combined with his deep knowledge of the human body and sports performance, makes him a standout in his field. Pedro’s guidance has been invaluable in tailoring fitness programmes to meet individual goals. With Pedro’s support, I was able to successfully complete a half marathon, feeling both physically strong and mentally empowered throughout the process.”
Pedro now works as a personal trainer to football players, but it is his dedication to teaching kids that has earned him so much love and respect in the local community. Rita continues: “For Klaas, the skills he has gained from Pedro have not only helped him in athletics but also shaped his character and approach to life’s challenges. This holistic approach to athletic development is a testament to the broader benefits of working with a skilled and dedicated coach like Pedro Braz Correia.”
Now Pedro has his own kids Maria Liz and João Pedro to mentor. “They are two healthy and very active children who love to run and play, which makes me extremely happy,” says Pedro proudly. “If one day, when it makes sense, they decide to start specialising in athletics, they will undoubtedly have their parents’ support.”
But Pedro has not given up on his own dreams. “I don’t hide the fact that my greatest dream is to become the coach for an Olympic champion athlete.” He also wants to continue his higher education and grow the Lacobrigense Athletics Academy so that it becomes a nationally acclaimed sporting centre of excellence. Pedro has also attended a doctorate programme in sports physiology in Lisbon, which he is still in the process of completing.
And, it is not just Tomorrow who are celebrating Pedro´s achievements. He is one of three coaches in Portugal nominated for the 2024 young coach award (Prémio Jovem Treinador Revelação 2024) that will be awarded on 26 October in Viseu at the Gala da Associação de Treinadores de Atletismo de Portugal. Pedro admits this recognition, “made me very happy”.
So if you would like to get yourself or your child involved in athletics, how should you go about it? Pedro says, “Except when I’m accompanying an athlete in international competitions, you’ll find me every day at the Carlos Cabral Athletics Track in Lagos, where I’ll be happy to welcome you and introduce you to the Lacobrigense Athletics Academy project.”
With so many negative influences open to young people today, it is reassuring to know that there are people in our community, like Pedro, who are dedicated to showing them how to make the best of themselves and learn how to handle both mental and physical challenges.
If you know someone in the community who deserves recognition, we would love to hear from you: sophie@tomorrowalgarve.com
Pedro is proud of all of his students but would like to highlight the amazing achievements of the following:
Gabriel Ludwick
U18 National 800m Indoor Track Champion; silver medal in the 800m at the CPLP U17 Sports Games; bronze medal in the 1500m at the U18 Iberian Tournament.
Tomé Nascimento
Bronze medallist in the 400m at the U18 Iberian Tournament.
Tiago Ramos
National Champion in the 10,000m Race Walking U20; National Champion in the 5,000m Indoor, 10,000m Outdoor March, 10km Road March, 15km Road March and 20km Road March U23; Absolute Portuguese Champion in the 10,000m Outdoor March and 20km Road March; 16th place in the 10,000m Outdoor March at the U20 World Championships; 16th place in the 20km Road March at the U23 European Championships; gold medallist in the 10,000m Outdoor March at the U23 Mediterranean Games.
Bo Henningsson and Per Jacobsson
Silver medallists in the 4x400m M65 at the World Masters Championships.
