With one week to go to the European Athletics Team Championships 1st Division in Madrid from 27-29 June, we put the spotlight on Portugal who hosted the top-tier of the first ever edition of the biennial championships back in 2009.
In the ensuing decade, Portugal fluctuated between the top-tier and the second-tier of the European Athletics Team Championships but the Iberian nation have since firmly ensconced themselves in the 1st Division, finishing a creditable eighth two years ago in Silesia.
Can they improve on that and record their best ever finish at the 2025 European Athletics Team Championships in Madrid?
Track record
- Leiria 2009, Portugal (11th place) - Super League
Despite the best efforts of horizontal jumps stars Nelson Evora and Naide Gomes, Portugal were one of three teams to suffer relegation in the first iteration of the European Athletics Team Championships in 2009.
Evora finished first and second in the triple jump and long jump respectively and Gomes won the women’s long jump while other high points included veteran Rui Silva kicking to victory in the 1500m and the 2004 Olympic silver medallist Francis Obikwelu finishing second in the men’s 100m.
But despite these standout individual performances, Portugal still finished a lowly 11th overall on home soil in Leiria.
- Sandnes 2019, Norway (1st place) - 1st Division
But perhaps the finest moment for Portugal in competition history came at the 2019 European Athletics Team Championships when they topped the standings in the second-tier in Sandnes, Norway, sealing promotion back to the top-tier where they have remained ever since.
High points for Portugal’s title-topping exploits in 2019 included victories for soon-to-be Olympic champion Pedro Pichardo in the triple jump and Irina Rodrigues in the discus.
- Silesia 2023, Poland (8th place) - 1st Division
With the top-tier extended to 16 teams in 2023, Portugal arguably exceeded expectations in Silesia two years ago by finishing eighth overall, just one place behind perennial medallists France.
The sole Portuguese victory across the three days came courtesy of Auriol Dongmo in the shot put but other standout performances included Joao Coelho finishing second in the 400m in a national record of 45.05 and Isaac Nader finishing a close second in the 1500m.
Five to watch
- Isaac Nader (men's 1500m)
The Portuguese middle distance star arrives fresh from his biggest victory to date, gaining a march on the field and sprinting to victory in the Dream Mile in Oslo earlier this month.
Nader is renowned for his fast finish and he is no stranger to performing well at the European Athletics Team Championships, taking victory in a slow and tactical 3000m in Silesia 2021.
- Salome Afonso (women's 800m, 1500m)
Afonso was one of the breakthrough stars of the indoor season, coming away with a brace of medals at the European Athletics Indoor Championships: silver in the 1500m and bronze in the 3000m.
The 27-year-old will be on double duty again next weekend although on this occasion she will be contesting both the 800m and 1500m, the same combination of events she entered at the 2021 European Athletics Team Championships.
- Pedro Pichardo (men's triple jump)
One of the greatest triple jumpers in recent history, expectations will always be high when Pedro Pichardo takes to the runway.
Pichardo has competed sparingly this year but the 2020 Olympic champion has broken the 17 metre-barrier in his two competitions, improving to 17.06m in Oslo last week.
However, Pichardo might need to find something extra to defeat fellow former Cuban Andy Diaz, the reigning world and European indoor champion in the discipline.
- Agate de Sousa (women's long jump)
The women’s long jump will be one of the strongest events of the three day-long championships with all three medallists from the Roma 2024 European Athletics Championships due to compete.
Agate de Sousa picked up a surprise bronze medal behind Germany’s Malaika Mihambo and Italy’s Larissa Iapichino but the 25-year-old already has a win over Mihambo this year, defeating the German on home territory in Dresden at the start of the month.
- Lorene Bazolo (women's 100m, 200m, 4x100m)
Now 42, Lorene Bazolo shows no sign of slowing down. In fact, she’s almost faster than ever.
Bazolo recently had the distinction of breaking Merlene Ottey’s world V40 record with 22.71 in the 200m and she is also closing in on Ottey’s world V40 100m record with 11.10, just 0.01 shy of her mark.
Based on season’s bests, Bazolo is joint fastest in the 100m alongside Germany’s Lisa Mayer with 11.10 and the fastest outright in the 200m.