Marathon runner wins first ever gold and closes Brazil?s good campaign in London

Detalhes

Publicado em Domingo, 09 Setembro 2012 11:32

Brazil finished its participation in the London Paralympic Games with a gold medal. This Sunday (09.09), Tito Sena from Brasilia won the T46 marathon, with the time of 2 hours 30 minutes and 40 seconds and put his country in the highest place on the podium for the first time. The marathon runner is a beneficiary of the Ministry of Sport's Athlete Grant Programme.

It was Brazil?s 21st gold medal at the London Paralympics. The result ensured Brazil?s seventh position in the medal table, with 43 of them: 21 gold, 14 silver and 8 bronze. The results have reached the target established by the Brazilian Paralympic Committee (CPB), which was to go from ninth in Beijing 2008, to seventh in London.

The race was thrilling, with the Brazilian and the Spaniard Ait Khamouch Abderrahman taking turns in the lead. At the end of the race, Sena was in second place and after accelerating in a spectacular fashion, overtook his opponent and guaranteed the gold, 40 seconds ahead of the Spaniard.

After the race and with the medal hanging from his neck, Sena recalled the difficulties he had to run the more than 42km of the marathon. "After km 35, I started to feel a lot of pain and had to run on perseverance", he said. At the Beijing Paralympics in 2008, Sena won the silver medal in the same event, even though he had ruptured his Achilles heels in km 28.

Rio 2016
Sena also pointed out how thrilled he was to represent Brazil at an edition of the Paralympics and make it to the highest place on the podium. "It is a great joy to be able to win another medal for Brazil. There is no way to explain, particularly because it was the first gold in the marathon", he celebrated. The athlete, who is 45, hopes to be in shape for the Paralympic Games in Rio 2016. "I?m going to look after myself and train a lot to be able to run the marathon in Rio."

Tito worked in a factory floor when in 2003 he had an accident which reduced his right arm. The athlete from Brasilia started running with the aim of getting in shape and found out his potential as an endurance runner in 2006.

Another Brazilian athlete almost won another medal in the T46 marathon in London: Olivan Bonfim finished the race in fourth, behind Frederic Heede from Blegium.

Rafael Brais, from London
Photo: CPB
Ascom - Ministry of Sport
Follow the news of the Brazilian Ministry of Sport on Twitter and Facebook