At Humberto Delgado airport, in Lisbon, Patrícia Mamona was received by family, friends and fans, in an arrival that she hopes to “repeat again”, speaking to journalists.
“Those who already know me know that I can't be satisfied with my national or personal record. There are always opportunities to improve. Fortunately, I left here with a goal that, at first, I thought was unthinkable, but which I started to believe as I got better. Being at this 15-metre level is already historic; it's being part of the club of the best ever. I want to take advantage of this, be at the club more often and I believe that there is always something to improve”, she stressed.
Revealing that she is still “trying to understand what is happening”, the Sporting athlete expressed her pride in “representing this nation” in the biggest sporting event in the world, for which she trained not only physically but emotionally and mentally”.
“I knew from the beginning that it was going to be a very difficult competition and I had to be prepared to respond at any time. I was not satisfied in the competition with 15.01. I even felt that I could give a lot more, as I went up to 12 centimeters before the board, which always gives some space for progression. I just thought about giving everything, everything else was a consequence of that. I was happy, I'm Olympic runner-up, I'm in the 15 meters 'club', I put Portugal on the podium... It's exceptional”, said the 32-year-old Lisboner.
The also European champion considered that she has “a lot to give”, stressing that she has having a career with almost no serious injuries, only one, which gives her longer perspectives in terms of career length.
“We have to start turning off ages a little and believe that we are capable of pursuing our dreams. My intention is always to give everything and represent Portugal in the best way”, she stressed, adding: “Any athlete wants to give his best while he is well. I don't have a deadline because I don't know when my body will start saying no. If the mind is active, the body is capable of doing everything”.
In the final, the Portuguese, which three times surpassed the previous national maximum (14.66 meters) - a mark that felt “for a long time that it was worth much more” than that record -, was only beaten by the Venezuelan Yulimar Rojas, a “ phenomenon”, which began by breaking the Olympic record (15.41 meters) and closed with the world record (15.67).
Patrícia Mamona also stressed the importance of support, which "make a lot of difference, especially in technical subjects in which you compete with other countries that are much more advanced in this regard".
“If we want to have a lot of athletes competing in big competitions, we have to be at the level of other nations. I came from school sports, I think we have to invest a bit more in school sports because that's where talent comes from”, expressed the athlete.
With three medals won in Tokyo2020, since judoka Jorge Fonseca, in the -100 kg category, and canoeist Fernando Pimenta, in K1 1,000 meters, achieved bronze, Portugal has already equaled the best results in the Olympic Games, matching the three podium climbs in Los Angeles 1984 and Athens 2004, with a total of 27 medals all time (four gold, nine silver and 14 bronze).