Joana Pontes Breaks National Record, Secures Top 10 at European Championships

Portuguese race walker Joana Pontes has set a new national record in the marathon race walk, finishing 10th at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham with a time of 3h41.36.

The 26-year-old GA Fátima athlete shattered her previous national record of 3h51.23, improving it by nearly ten minutes (9.47). This remarkable achievement occurred in the newly introduced long-distance race walk event.

The race was dominated by Italy's Sofia Fiorini, still in the U23 age group, who set a new world record with a time of 3h15.11. Poland's Katarzyna Zdzieblo secured second place, 4.39 minutes behind the winner, while Spain's Raquel González completed the podium, 5.38 minutes back.

Joana Pontes, who finished 26.25 minutes behind the leader, executed a superbly managed race. The athlete from Ourém maintained a position between 13th and 18th for much of the course, but a remarkable recovery in the final three laps allowed her to climb significantly in the standings.

"I'm quite satisfied. It was a race where I needed to stay calm and patient, because from the start I felt very good and eager to go fast. I had to control myself a bit, but this final part really paid off," the Portuguese athlete stated in the mixed zone.

The ambition to reach the top 10 fueled her final push. "Near the end, they told me that 10th place was within reach, and I gave it my all until the finish. About a mile and a half, two miles from the end, I felt a strength I can't even explain, as if I was just starting to run, despite having 40 kilometers in my legs," she explained in comments to the Lusa Agency.

This marks the 27th edition of the outdoor European Championships, and the first to include the marathon and half-marathon race walk events. Joana Pontes had previously finished 27th in the 35km event at the Tokyo 2025 World Championships and was disqualified from the 20km event at the Munich 2022 European Championships.