Paulo Andre falls on Brazil Athletics Cup, cries, leaves in wheelchair | Olympics

In his last chance to win the Olympic index in the 100 meters, in 10 seconds, the Brazilian runner Paulo Andre fell during the Brazil Cup Athletics race, this Thursday afternoon (27), and left the track crying profusely, in a wheelchair. But the athlete will have to compete at the Paris 2024 Olympics, where he currently ranks 35th in the world rankings and the best 56 will qualify for the event regardless of the index. The Brazil Cup will be held until Sunday (30) at the Brazilian Paralympic Training Center (CTPB) in Sao Paulo.

Paulo Andre apparently felt a muscle in the back of his right thigh during the race and did not complete the 100m already with a pointer for Paris and with the names guaranteed for the Games, Felipe Bardi with 10s05 and Eric Cardoso, with 10s19, finishing first and third respectively. Second place went to Hygor Gabriel Soares with 10s13.

Caio Bonfim, a bronze medalist at the last IAAF World Cup and fourth place at the Rio 2016 Olympic Games, on Thursday became the first Brazilian to complete the 20-kilometre walking track test in less than an hour and 20 minutes. The athlete finished the race in 1 hour, 19 minutes and 52 seconds, breaking the South American record and further qualifying himself to seek an Olympic medal at the 2024 Paris Olympics – where the march will be held on the road, not on the athletics track. This was his 17th national competition title.

– It was a great race, I enjoyed being the first South American athlete to cover such a long distance on the track. This year I wanted to challenge myself, to run on different tracks and on the track as well. This brings confidence to arrive in Paris in the best possible way – said Caio, who spoke about his prospects for Paris: – Hope is the word. (…) It is realistic, literally, to be in the best possible condition to participate in the fight. He is in good shape, his head is up and he dreams. The Olympic Games are a dream.

In the women’s category, Viviane Lira also had a great day and broke the Brazilian record with a time of 1 hour, 30 minutes, 38 seconds and 3. The athlete also qualified for Paris, and in addition to the individual event, Vivienne and Caio will compete together in the mixed doubles.

With her passport to Paris already stamped, Erika Senna came in second with a time of 1:32:06, followed by Gabriela Muniz with a time of 1:34:34. In the men’s category, Max Batista dos Santos (1h 20m 24s) and Matheus Correia (1h 20m 51s) completed the podium.