Patrícia Silva and Salomé Afonso Secure 1500m Final Berths at Europeans

Patrícia Silva and Salomé Afonso secured their spots in the 1500m final at the European Athletics Championships in Birmingham this Saturday. Patrícia Silva dominated her heat, while Salomé Afonso also advanced from her qualifying race.

Sporting's Patrícia Silva won the second heat with a time of 4:08.17 minutes, marking the fastest time among all competitors in the qualifiers. Meanwhile, Benfica's Salomé Afonso finished third in the first heat with 4:10.07 minutes, placing her 11th overall and earning a direct qualification spot.

The 26-year-old Sporting athlete surprised many by leading the race from start to finish, a tactic she rarely employs. "Normally, I'm not a front-runner, but I ended up there, which was a bit of a new situation for me," Patrícia Silva confessed, admitting it was "a little scary" not being able to see her rivals.

Despite the pressure, the athlete from Cartaxo, a bronze medalist in the 800m at the Nanjing 2025 World Indoor Championships, maintained her pace in the final stretch, outperforming Ireland's Sarah Healy and France's Agathe Guillemot. "To win races, you have to be in front, and well, today was my day to lead," she acknowledged, indicating her willingness to repeat the strategy in Sunday's final.

Salomé Afonso, who competed at Alexander Stadium, admitted to feeling particularly nervous before her race. "At the Europeans, it's always more open, and qualifications that seem accessible sometimes turn into a card game where the one with the best strategy wins," explained the Benfica athlete, who expressed immense relief at qualifying.

The Lisbon native, a medalist at the Apeldoorn 2025 European Indoor Championships, approaches the final with optimism, despite an outdoor season that didn't meet her expectations. "Training has been excellent, I'm completely healthy, so I just need to trust the process and believe that everything that hasn't materialized yet will in the final," she projected.

The 1500m final is scheduled for Sunday at 9:13 PM, on the championships' closing day. It's worth noting that Portugal's best-ever result in this event belongs to Carla Sacramento, who was a silver medalist in Budapest in 1998, the same year Patrícia Silva's father, Rui Silva, also won a silver medal.