Portuguese athlete Patrícia Mamona won the bronze medal in the triple jump at the European Indoor Championships in Istanbul, Turkey, on Saturday, jumping 14.16 meters in the final despite a torn adductor muscle.
The 34-year-old Olympic vice-champion, who was defending the title she won two years ago, set her best mark right from the start but was unable to go beyond 14 meters, far from the European best of 14.51 meters this year and her national record of 14.53 meters that won her the European title two years ago.
The athlete said in an interview with RTP that she was not in the best condition today due to a torn adductor muscle, a consequence of the effort she put in yesterday during the qualifying races.
Patrícia lost the title to Turkey’s Tugba Danismaz, who became European Champion with 14.31 meters, a new national record, ahead of Italy’s Daiya Derkach (14.20).
Nevertheless, with this bronze medal, the national athlete increases to three the number of “metals” won by Portugal in Istanbul in 2023, equal to the total of Torun in 2021, with three gold medals, and Valencia in 1998, with one gold and two silvers.
