On Tuesday, Portuguese Francisco Belo failed to qualify for the heavy throwing final at the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, throwing 20.58 meters, finishing 16th in qualifying, at the National Stadium in the Japanese capital.
Belo, 30, who made his Olympics debut, started with a zero throw before reaching 20.58 m, reaching 20.24 in the third and final test, finishing seventh in Group A, and then being overtaken by nine more from Group B.
Speaking into the RTP microphone, after the qualifying round, Francisco was not completely satisfied: “Being in the first group has the following consequences and now we have to wait. The challenge was to get to the final with a qualifying mark. I did not want [estar a sofrer] nor that the Portuguese suffered. Now I can wait. I did my best. The first shot slipped off my neck, it was wet, the second I coped, and the third took a chance. This was not what I wanted. but if you happen to reach the final, you need to release the animal and release the beast. I most want to be with the best, ”he told the RTP mics after his performance, admitting that he wouldn’t be happy if he didn’t make it to the finals because“ I wanted more. ”
Direct qualification was held at a distance of 21.10 m, a record set by six athletes, of which 12 best passes – the last one – 20.90.
The final is scheduled for Thursday at 11:15 am local time (3:15 am in Lisbon), with American Ryan Krauser (22.05 m), the only athlete taller than 22 meters, arriving with the best score of the 12 finalists.
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