Fernando Pimenta wins bronze medal in the Olympic Games

At 4:27 am this Tuesday, August 3, Fernando Pimenta, SL Benfica's canoeist, crossed the finish line in 3rd place in the K1 1000 meters final at the Olympic Games (3:22.478) and celebrated the bronze medal, the third for Portugal in Tokyo. 

Fernando Pimenta finished in 3rd place (3:22.478) and took bronze, while Adam Varga (3:22.431) was second and the also Hungarian Balint Kopasz (3:20.643) first. Out of the medals (4th) was Germany's Jacob Schopf (3:22.554).

To reach the decisive regatta, Fernando Pimenta started by winning the first heat in 3:40.323 minutes, qualifying directly for the semi-finals, where he would have (another) sensational performance: he won his series and broke the Olympic record in K1, with a time of 3:22.942 minutes.

This is Fernando Pimenta's second medal in Olympic Games, after the silver medal in K2 1000 meters in the London edition in 2012. With this feat, the Benfica canoeist joins Carlos Lopes, Rosa Mota, and Fernanda Ribeiro in the restricted group of Portuguese athletes who won two medals in the Olympics.