The Portuguese Eliana Bandeira won this Tuesday the silver medal in the shot put at the World University Games, in Chengdu, China, the first podium of the Portuguese mission in the event.
With a throw of 17.47 meters in the final, Bandeira was only behind the Chinese Jiayuan Song, Asian champion and fifth ranked at the Tokyo 2020 Olympic Games, who managed 18.24, leaving behind the German Lea Riedel, European runner-up in 2021, third with 17.32.
« It’s my first time in a competition of this size and getting a medal is excellent», declared the 27-year-old athlete, a student at the Polytechnic of Leiria, quoted by the Portuguese Athletics Federation (FPA).
It was the first Portuguese podium at the Universiades, which last until Sunday in Chengdu, China, for the Benfica athlete, ranked 31st in the weight world ranking, in which her personal best is the 18.49 meters she achieved in May this year.
In other athletics results, Nuno Pereira went ahead in the 1,500 meters, which he ran in 3.44.79 minutes to advance in the third semi-final, and João Nuno Coelho won his round in the 400 meters (48.83 seconds) and qualified for the ‘socks’.