War on Portuguese athletics: “I’m not a whore and I’m not like you”

The two great stars of Portuguese athletics starred in a battle on social networks. Oh Nelson Evora and Peter Paul Pichardothe two athletes who won Olympic golds in the triple jump.

Evora, who won Beijing 2008, was the first to throw the javelin. “Picardo he is a bought athlete to have short-term results,” he said this Sunday in an interview with Radio Observador’s 40-minute podcast. After the accusations, when the presenter asked him if he was not too extreme, Évora reaffirmed his words. “I just want there to be equality of opportunity. Any foreigner who comes to Portugal has to live 5 years, which I understand for the elite sport, but let them be the same month for everyone.”

Neither athlete was born in Portugal, Evora is from the Ivory Coast, but immigrated to the neighboring country at the age of six and Pichardo He was born in Santiago de Cuba, a country where he was up to three times world runner-up in his country of origin, but he escaped in 2017 and since 2019 he has been wearing the red and green.

The Cuban athlete did not remain silent after the accusation and after a few hours he published a text in his Instagram stories in which he defended himself against the words of Evora. “When you say I was bought, you don’t respect me. I’m not a whore and I’m not like you, who left the club badly because they offered you more. I don’t know your problems in my head or if you have problem with someone from Benficabut you mustn’t mix things up by talking about me,” he replied. Pichardowho signed for Lisbon athletics, a team with which Évora competed for 12 years and with which he parted ways six months before going to Sporting from Portugal.

“But let me explain some things to you and also to those who support you. I left Cuba because of the country’s problems, everyone knows that. I am in Sweden and Benfica offered me like any other club from abroad “I arrived in Portugal without knowing about your problems. I just focus on my career. I’ve become a ‘champion’ but you haven’t beaten me yet. In your career you have won only twice and your best mark is 17.74 meters. I jumped in more than long leggings and a cap. You have never been my reference as an athlete or as a person. You keep talking about Tokyo. Ok… When you got injured I was no longer on the track because I qualified immediately on the first try. So how do you want me to talk to you?” Pichardo wrote.

Pichardo, who continued his message, also spoke about his nationalization process. “Spending 11 years to have a Portuguese document does not make you more Portuguese than others, that is, more than me, who had it for a short time. After all, we both obtained Portuguese nationality, which means we were not born here.”

“Be a man and speak straight. If you have a problem, don’t talk to me. you look like a girl when you like a girl. You’re handsome but I’m not gay. I always stay in my corner, but enough humility and silence. You can have your story and you are Nélson Évora as you said, but I also have mine and I am Pichardo. When you win the Diamond League, jump 18 meters and get my titles in a year, then we will talk about champions. I’m better than you… accept it. You know,” said Pichardo.

THE FEDERATION CONDEMNED THE FACTS

In remarks to the Observer radio station, the president of the Federation, Jorge Vieiraaffirmed that “it is impossible to agree to an accusation like this. The Federation does not buy athletes, for me it is unbearable to hear that word. We do not buy athletes in any way, we support athletes to achieve their excellence,” he stressed.

He also denied any contact between the entity he leads and Pichardo before he obtained nationality, in 2017. “The Federation did not even have an exchange of words with Pedro Pichardo before he was nationalized. There was no invitation from us,” he added.

In an interview with the same outlet, Nelson Évora, an athlete of FC Barcelona, ​​criticized the speed with which Pichardo acquired the Portuguese nationality and assured that “he was bought” to get “short-term results”.

“I’m glad that he brings medals, but who cares? Who benefited? Is it Portugal? Of course. The investment was made in a short time. An athlete was bought to have a short-term result”, declared.

as expressed Pichardo In an interview with a Portuguese newspaper, the two had a “good friendship” that ended abruptly after he gained nationality. “When I got Portuguese nationality, I don’t know what happened… from one moment to the next he blocked me on social networks. I didn’t hurt anyone, it’s not illegal, I just triple jumped,” he stressed .