Rain was not an obstacle for Alex Douglas Perez da Silva. With a steady sprint with the right to a small jet on his arrival at Tokyo National Stadium, the Brazilian won the silver medal in the T46 marathon, a class played by athletes with upper limb disabilities. Alex’s laureate at the Tokyo Paralympics put Brazil on a par with 72 medals obtained in Rio 2016, when the country had the highest number of podiums.
Alex Peres takes silver in the men’s T46 marathon – Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
Alex Perez finished the 42 km race in 2 hours and 27 minutes, a new South American record. The gold medal went to China’s Zhaoyan Li, who won with a time of 2:25:50, breaking the Paralympic record. Japan’s Tsutomu Nagata, bronze, with a time of 2:29:33, completed the podium.
– We had the intention to do a smart race, start cautiously and try to get close to the front group. I started growing in the middle of the race and started looking for the leader. The strategy worked and they felt a lot, especially in the part where I attacked. Winning the medal makes us make a movie about everything we’ve been through in our careers. Alex Douglas said I’m here to run to cheer my country.
Alex Perez flies ahead – Photo: Alê Cabral/CPB
Alex did a consistent test. Even with the bad weather on Saturday in Tokyo, the Brazilian remained close to the front line from the first kilometres. Starting at kilo 30, Zhaoyan isolated Li in advance with Alex as his only pursuer, leaving behind all the other marathon runners.
The Brazilian managed to shorten the distance in the last kilometers, but the victory went to the Chinese. In the last meters of the marathon, already at the Tokyo National Stadium, Alex repeated the Vanderlei Cordero de Lima gesture as he made the small plane before crossing the finish line.
Alex Peres talks about the silver medal in the men’s T46 marathon – Paralympic Games Tokyo 2020
The Brazilian is influenced by silver – Photo: Alê Cabral / CPB
Edenosa Santos is in fourth place
Also on Saturday, Edenosa Santos finished fourth in the women’s T12 marathon, which was contested by visually impaired athletes. She managed to reach 3 hours, 15 minutes and 32 seconds. Gold went to Japanese Misato Michishita, with 3h00min50s. Silver medal by Russia’s Elena Bautova (3h04:16s). Bronze medalist, South Africa’s Lausanne Coetzee (3:11:13). In the same race, Brazilian Edeline Boaventura took seventh place with a time of 3 hours 26 minutes 32 seconds.
Edenosa de Jesus Santos finished fourth in the women’s T12 marathon – Tokyo 2020 Paralympic Games
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