This Thursday, the athlete from the Algarve, Luís Costa, secured the 8th position in the H5 road race of the Paralympic Games, which are taking place in Rio de Janeiro.
The cyclist, who competed in the race 60 kilometers on handbikes (arm-propelled bikes), repeated the same position he had achieved yesterday, in the H5 time trial.
This Thursday, the winner of the race was the South African Ernst van Dyk, who won the race in the sprint, in a duel with the Olympic champion in title Alessandro Zanardi, former Formula 1 driver who lost both legs in an accident, which was in 2nd position. The bronze went to the Dutchman Jetze Plat.
Luís Costa was one of the favorites in this competition, thanks to his status as the leader of the world class classification, but he ended up failing to achieve his goal of winning a medal.
“I really wanted to make a big surprise and my idea was to go with them more or less until the end and then try to surprise them. I wasn't the favorite and they were all going to be concentrating on Zanardi. I believed it until the end, but when, two kilometers from the finish, I looked back, I saw that they were all very close to me. I hit the line and that's what I got», explained the rookie athlete in the Paralympics.
Luís Costa, 43-year-old Judiciary Police inspector, born in Aljustrel but residing in Portimão, lost his right leg on his 30th birthday in a car accident. In this, which is the first time he competes in the Paralympic Games, he brings home two diplomas.
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