It’s been a decade since the paths of João Mendes and Miguel Monteiro crossed. João, a coach looking for talents to nurture athletics. Miguel, an athlete with potential yet to be unveiled. Since that year in 2014, the journey has been long, tough, with ups and downs, challenges, and expectations, but rewarding enough. Step by step, Miguel Monteiro has made his name in the books of adapted sports, thanks to an unmistakable aptitude for shot put. And after achievements and medals in various other arenas, the time came to celebrate a paralympic title. This happened this Sunday in Paris, marking the first podium for Portugal at the 2024 Games.
“It was a very competitive trial, because even though I moved ahead early on, there was always the possibility of someone doing better than me. The third attempt was, in fact, very good, although I know I can do better. We’ve worked and learned a lot since Tokyo, and today was our day,” summarized the now paralympic champion, who is 23 years old and still has a long — and promising — journey ahead.
Yes, Miguel Monteiro is capable of doing better, and the numbers are there to prove it. Since 2022, he has held the world record in the shot put, in the F40 category (a device weighing 4kg, for short athletes under 1.30m), thanks to a throw of 11.60m at the national championships in Pombal (which shattered the previous record of 11.16m held by Russian Denis Gnezdilov, set a year prior). Therefore, for the thrower born in Mangualde, the 11.21m achieved this Sunday does not represent the peak of his capabilities.
But one thing is to throw in a domestic competition, and another is at the Paralympic Games. João Mendes has made it clear several times that Miguel does not let pressure weigh him down, and that he is even more motivated on the big stages; the truth is that being able to approach his best version in such a demanding competition is quite an achievement. So much so that it earned him the gold, well ahead of Mongolian Battulga Tsegmid (11.09m) and Iraqi Garrah Tnaiash (11.03m).
At the Stade de France, Miguel Monteiro was the only thrower consistently over 11 meters. His first attempt was a foul, but that did not shake him: he threw 11.02m, followed by the 11.21m that secured him the title and set a new paralympic record, then threw 11.00m and finally 11.17m.
“This means a lot… It has been years of hard work, and we are finally rewarded with this medal. I am very happy,” he reacted at the end of the trial, admitting that he only truly felt he had secured the title on the last attempt.
Miguel Monteiro already had the experience of standing on a paralympic podium when he won bronze in the same competition at Tokyo 2020. He reveals that he learned lessons from that journey. “After the bronze, we improved a few things, we prepared over a three-year cycle, and especially in the last three months for this trial. It paid off.”
It has always been a continuous upward trajectory since he began. Even while completing his degree in Industrial Engineering and Management at the University of Aveiro (which he has since finished), the thrower from the Casa do Povo de Mangualde has managed to balance packed training weeks, often twice daily, with his academic calendar. Track and gym sessions are interspersed with study sessions. A constant juggling of time to remain competitive.
And if there is something that Miguel Monteiro has shown early on, it is an unusual competitive nature. Back in 2016, he won bronze at the International Paralympic Committee (IPC) European Championships, and months later, at just 15 years old, he became the youngest Portuguese athlete to compete in the Paralympic Games, specifically in Rio de Janeiro 2016.
At that time, he had a personal best of 8.41m but used that motivational springboard to reach fifth place with 8.89m. And he has not stopped adding centimeters to his record: he reached 9.86m at the 2017 World Championships (silver), 10.92m at the 2021 Europeans (gold), in a year where he also achieved 11.01m, before setting the unbroken record of 11.60m.
An unusual journey paved by someone who is described by his coach as humble, hardworking, and fun. Someone who has a solid family structure, who prefers to highlight the sustained growth of public support rather than point out past shortcomings, someone who prepares daily to seize opportunities.
It was in this way that he achieved, this Sunday, the first gold medal for Portuguese paralympic athletics since Sydney 2000. In this manner and with the right mindset for high competition, as someone who trends more towards acceleration than slowing down in the shadow of past successes: “I believe I can do better, but that will be for next time.”