Patricia Mamona says that being Olympic in two modalities would be “brutal”

Ser Olympic in two different modalities would be “brutal” for Patricia Mamona, who however wants to live “with some caution” the first steps in the shot, after the “heart stab” that went to Paris2024 from the stands.

“ I'm not gonna lie that, at first, I always said this is slow, this is a hobby. But suddenly, [...] within my hobby, I do my research, [...] I start to see how great athletes compete, how they train, and I start to think ‘maybe I could get there too’”, he recognized, in an interview with the agency Lusa.

Vice Olympic champion of the triple jump in Tokyo2020 and European champion ‘outdoor’ in 2016 and ‘indoor’ in 2021, Patricia Mamona is now taking the first steps in the shot, admitting she has already thought about the possibility of being able to compete one day ‘at a high level’ in this new sport.

“I went to the Olympic Games, so it’s natural to think I could go to the Olympic Games in this sport. But at the same time, I have to deal with reality, I have to know that I have a process and I can't lose focus on the process. And if that happens, it would be brutal, it would be different. It had never happened in Portugal”, he stressed.

Still recovering from the injury to the left knee, which was operated on two weeks before the start of the Paris2024 Olympic Games, the 37-year-old athlete decided that regardless of whether she was “well or not”, her triple career will end in Los Angeles2028.

“ But I do not know if I can announce the end of my career before the Olympic Committee [of Portugal] while I am starting another Olympic career”, joked.

Noting that it is “very new” and that it has just started shooting, Mamona recalled that having been Olympic in one mode does not mean that it is “good in another” or that it “can reach the same levels”.

“ I also have to go with some caution, especially at this early stage, because, obviously, I realize that there are many expectations, but I also realize that to reach a level of master in any test, discipline, any area, has its time”, he said.

In the era in which “immediate results” are sought, the jumper recalled the importance of the route, showing her bet on “improvement, beginning to compete, learning to deal with the stress of competition”, which will necessarily be distinct from her triple experience.

“ Now, it is obvious that I bring many valencias of sport, which are almost universal, which can make my process and my journey much shorter and faster, that the results appear faster ", granted.

The prospect of a future double Olympic career was the pretext to talk about the past edition of the Olympic Games, which Patricia Mamona failed after her left knee injury prevented her from competing since March 2023 and, consequently, reaching the minimums for Paris2024.

“I’m already more comfortable talking, but harder [than not qualifying] I think it was actually going to the Games and seeing it live. And feel like I could be there, and feel like this could be my chance to get a gold medal. I had one of silver and I knew the gold, [because it was] against Yulimar [Rojas]. [Paris2024] was the first test in which Yulimar was not present”, he recalled.

He was invited by the then president of the Olympic Committee of Portugal, José Manuel Constantino – who died while the Paris Closing Ceremony was taking place2024 – to accompany the National Mission in the French capital.

“It’s a stab wound to the heart. I was in an environment where I obviously had a lot of audience around, and they knew I wanted to be on triple. So I had all my eyes on me, and I made an effort to keep my tears from falling. But then I thought ‘that’s you’. And obviously they fell, but at the same time it was good for me, for that mourning process to be much faster ", took over.

Mamona reveals that she “did not expect to be recovering” from the injury because she believed it would be “a much faster thing”.

“At the time, it was what helped me to come up and be motivated again to start training and recovering. [...] What I learned from that is the sooner I get out of the hole, the better. And sometimes it's accepting that I'm in the hole, I'm down there, letting emotions come up. If I have to cry, let me be vulnerable, go through that moment, and then everything almost comes out of the body ", concluded.