Paulo Reis, the athletics director of Sporting, the club that saw Benfica ‘steal’ the double achieved in 2023, noted that the indoor track championships “are always very balanced”.
“Last year we won by half a point [em masculinos], this year we lost by one point. The team did very well, had an excellent weekend, personal records, we won seven individual races, but then we had two third places in races in which we knew we would have difficulties and we ended up losing by one point”, analyzed the also a Leo coach.
In the women’s sector, Paulo Reis said that his athletes “also had an excellent championship and that the National Indoor Track Club Championship was marked by the disqualification of the Leo athlete from the march.
“We didn’t even have the chance to reach the end. In the worst case scenario we would have been in second place, we would have had seven points. We lost by three [na classificação final]therefore, we would win with some comfort”, he argued.
On the other hand, the injuries that affect Sporting’s starting team in the women’s sector also contributed, according to the director, to this year’s classification.
“We have five athletes who are unable to compete”, he noted.
Asked by Lusa about the reason that led Sporting officials to formalize a protest in the men’s sector – and which led to the announcement of the final results and the podium ceremony being delayed by more than 30 minutes -, Paulo Reis alluded to a situation led by a Benfica athlete, who competed “all in black”, without the club’s shirt, which, according to regulations, could lead to disqualification.
However, according to Paulo Reis, the protest was rejected, allegedly because the judges had not warned the Benfica athlete of this non-compliance.
2024-02-12 01:32:13
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