It was a ceremony that was neither cold nor hot. Jordan Diaz in the top position, Pedro Pichardo on the right side and Italy’s Andy Diaz on the left. Each one had his own medal, flags flying high, the Spanish anthem, a farewell salute. At that very moment, Iuri Leitao and Rui Oliveira were racing toward the madness of gold on the Madison Cycle Track. Pichardo, his silver medal on his chest, was watching the race on the cell phone of a member of the Portuguese Olympic Committee, and the question arose immediately.
The answer was in line with what I had said on previous occasions. “I think it is very good. It is good for the country and for Portuguese sport to have another sport other than football that achieves results. It is very good for all Portuguese,” said the Portuguese jumper.
A day after the triple jump competition that gave Spain’s Jordan Diaz gold by two centimetres, Pichardo said he was more satisfied with the result, as he was an Olympic champion in Tokyo. “I have already accepted that things did not go well yesterday and that I made a lot of mistakes. I am very happy with the silver medal, and any Olympic medal is a good feeling, and I already have a gold medal at home.
After the final, Picardo left the possibility of withdrawing up in the air, but soon received a call from his coach who had to go and participate in the Diamond League final. “I don’t know yet, let’s see how it goes.”
Pichardo also revealed that he received a message from Benfica president Rui Costa and that he met with Luís Montenegro in the Olympic Village. “We greeted each other, he congratulated me and I tried to pass on the message to meet him. It would be good for politicians to meet with athletes. We will see if things improve a little bit, not only for me but also for Portuguese sport.”
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