The sailor João Pinto, representing the Marina de Portimão Yacht Club and Vela Solidária, reached 1st place in the 2nd national qualifying race in the Access class (adapted sailing class), which took place last weekend in Aveiro .
In a fleet made up of 19 sailors representing six clubs across the country and with light and unstable wind conditions, João Pinto had to commit himself and put all his knowledge to the test to reach 1st place on the podium.
With opponents like the current European champion in title or fourth in the World Championship, João's task was more complicated than in a similar race held in Portimão last March. Still, three first places, two seconds and a 4th place in the races disputed justified the highest place on the podium.
The 2nd place was occupied by Pedro Reis, from Clube Naval de Cascais, and 3rd by Fernando Pinto, from Sport Clube do Porto.
The results achieved by the Algarve's João Pinto place him directly in the European Access Championship, which takes place in Arbon, Switzerland, between the 9th and 13th of May.
The association Teia d'Impulsos, which promotes the Vela Solidária project, points out that, «in addition to being the first time that João Pinto will represent Portugal in a European competition, it will also be the first time that Portimão and the Algarve will have a representative in an international adapted sailing competition'.
"We hope that this is the motto to enable more people with disabilities to practice sports in general and sailing in particular, based on real recognition and support from public and private entities with responsibilities in the sporting and social areas."
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