Athletics
The Algarve’s Isaac Nader has won the silver medal in the 1500-metre race at the European Games in Poland. The Faro athlete was beaten by Spaniard Mohamed Katir and confessed that he was disappointed not to have gone one better. “Only gold counts. Of course, it’s [silver] a medal, so it’s satisfying enough,” he said after the race.
Rugby
Following June’s ‘Algarve Sevens’ tournament in Vila Real de Santo António, the Rugby Europe Sevens Championship moved to Hamburg for the second (and final) leg of the series. The Portugal men’s team topped their qualification group, but came up against an experienced Ireland team in the quarter-finals, losing 19-12. Despite defeat, The Wolves will be delighted to have finished fifth overall, ahead of higher-ranked sides such as Georgia and Italy.
The women’s side also performed valiantly, finishing in tenth place in the overall league table. They will return home pleased with their efforts, particularly as women’s rugby is still very much a fledgling sport in Portugal.
Snooker
The president of the Portuguese Billiards Federation has announced that Portugal is “well placed and working hard” to have a World Snooker Tour event in 2024. No venue or date has been chosen yet, but with snooker’s appeal growing quickly on a worldwide scale, the first international Portuguese tournament since 2014 may well be on the cards.
Sailing
Algarvian sailor Mariana Pinto has had cause for a double celebration. After finishing second at the Optimist Junior World Championships in Spain, Pinto, who represents the Clube Naval de Portimão, went on to become the national junior champion just three weeks later.
Kayaking
Athletes from the Castores do Arade club near Estômbar have collected a total of 44 medals at the National Line Regatta Championships. Pick of the bunch was Iago Bebiano, who became the national champion in the K1 500m (under 23 competition) as well as collecting four further medals.
Shooting
José Faria has won the bronze medal in the Olympic pit team shooting at the 2023 Krakow-Malopolska European Games. The Quarteira resident is vastly experienced and started competing back in 1996. Domestically, Faria represents the Loulé Shooting Club.
Motorsport
Two Formula 1 teams have visited the Autódromo Internacional do Algarve in July. French team Alpine and British team Mclaren have brought their test drivers to the region to work on the development of their cars. Amongst the entourage was Mick Schumacher, son of seven-time world champion Michael, who is the reserve driver for Mclaren.
Football
After last season’s promotion back to the top flight of Portuguese football, Farense coach José Mota said his team will need to be “ambitious and united” to achieve a “smooth championship”. The Faro-based side has already signed four new players in their provisional squad of twenty after adding two defenders, a midfielder and a goalkeeper. They start their season with a home game against Casa Pia on Sunday, 13 August.
Not to be outdone, local rivals Portimonense have so far signed six players in the closed season. Remarkably, all six players are attack-minded, with head coach Paulo Sérgio conscious of his side’s struggles in finding the net during the last campaign. The Portimão side begin with a long journey up to Gil Vincent in Barcelos as they look to improve on last season’s 15th position.
Reinaldo Teixeira has been re-elected as Director of the Algarve Football Association with 99.4% of the votes. Teixeira, who was interviewed by Tomorrow in November, has highlighted a number of projects that the association intends to promote, including the development of a sports academy and a certified training academy.
World Cup football
The FIFA Women’s World Cup started on 20 July and will continue until 20 August. Portugal has qualified for the tournament for the first time in history following a thrilling play-off victory over Cameroon. In the group stage, they will face Netherlands (23 July), Vietnam (27 July) as well as a daunting fixture against world champions USA (1 August).
European Under 21 Championship Football
Portugal’s run at the Euro Under 21 Championships has ended in the quarter-final stage at the hands of England.
Despite plenty of second-half possession, a solitary strike from Newcastle striker Anthony Gordon was enough to separate the sides.
The English Young Lions went on to beat Spain 1-0 in the final.
RISING STARS – Basketball
The Portimonense under-14 boys team have completed an extraordinary season. After winning their district league in a thrilling final in Olhão, the boys went on to also take victory in the National Cup, the first time an under-14 Portimonense side has ever won the competition. Rui Semedo and Harrison Harding were named in the All-Star top 5 players of the finals.
Harrison, along with Rui and Matias Lopez were were also selected to represent the Algarve in a tournament held in Albufeira against all 18 regions of Portugal, with over 1000 athletes competing in girls and boys categories.They eventually finished fifth.
The terrific achievements of the Portimonense under-14 squad will live long in the memory, whilst huge credit must go to coach Sergio Aasheim for helping them to create history.
