Arnaldo Abrantes

Arnaldo Abrantes

Personal information
Nationality	Portugal
Born	(1986-11-27) 27 November 1986 Cova da Piedade, Portugal
Sport
Sport	Athletics
Event(s)	100 metres, 200 metres
Achievements and titles
Personal best(s)	60 m: 6.65 100 m: 10.19 (+0.5 m/s) 200 m: 20.48 (+0.0 m/s)
Medal record Men's athletics Competitor for  Portugal Lusophony Games Gold Lisboa 2009 200 m Silver Macau 2006 200 m European Athletics U23 Championships Silver Debrecen 2007 4×100 m relay

Arnaldo Luís Isaías Abrantes (born 7 November 1986 in Cova da Piedade), is a Portuguese track and field sprinter, specializing in the distances of 100 metres and 200 metres. He also competes in the 4×100 metres relay. His father, Arnaldo Abrantes Sr., was also a sprinter.

Career

He began running at the Núcleo Desportivo Juvenil do Laranjeiro in 2002 where he remained until 2003. He joined Sporting Clube de Portugal in 2004, but left in 2010 (competing only for the Portuguese team).

At the 2007 Summer Universiade he managed a sixth place in the final 100 m, with a result of 10.53 seconds. He participated in the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships in Debrecen and was a semi-finalist in both the 100 and 200 m, before going on to claim a silver medal in the relay with colleagues Dany Gonçalves, Ricardo Martins and Yazaldes Nascimento. At the Osaka 2007 World Athletics Championships, Abrantes reached the quarter-finals of the 200 m. Besides getting the entry standards to the Olympic Games 2008 also beat his personal best and national under-23 record of 20.48 seconds.

He qualified to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics, but was eliminated in the opening rounds. The following year he improved his 100 m personal best to 10.19 seconds (the third best time by a Portuguese sprinter ever). He achieved a second place finish at the European Team Championships in the 200 meters, behind only to Dwain Chambers. At the Portuguese Championships he was runner-up to Francis Obikwelu with a wind-assisted run of 10.13 seconds. He was not in shape to compete in the 200 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics, but he did run in the national relay team.

2010

Slightly above their personal records, he managed to get the entry standard to participate in the European Championships of Barcelona. Participated in the 200 meters reaching the semi-finals. In the 4x100 meter relay, despite not having won a medal, along with fellow Ricardo Monteiro, Francis Obikwelu and João Ferreira beat the national record to 38.88 seconds. It was the first time the Portuguese team performed the relay race under 39 seconds.

2011

Having left the team Sporting Clube de Portugal, he began the 2010/2011 season as an individual athlete. Despite competing as individual, was in the National Indoor Championships who surprised everyone and everything by winning the first 60 m race to fellow countryman Francis Obikwelu, with a personal best of 6.65 seconds.

In the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships in Paris, he qualified for the semi-finals to 6.65 (matching his personal best), but did not make the final race. He started the outdoor season on 15 May in the University National Championships, opening the season with 10.56 seconds. A week later, at the Meeting of Leiria, he won first place with 10.54 seconds. In early June, he participated in the International Flanders Athletics Meeting in Belgium. Faced in the 100 meters the world champion of 60 meters Dwain Chambers, taking second place with 10.70 seconds and Chambers finished the race in 10.27 seconds – a heavy headwind of -2.3 m/s affected the race. Later in the same meeting, Arnaldo won the 200 meters in 20.90 seconds.

On 3 July, Arnaldo Abrantes participated in the Meeting of Chaux de Fonds in the 200 meters finishing second with 20.61 seconds (wind: +0.8 m / s). This result achieved the entry standard for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics in Daegu and 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Personal bests

• All information taken from IAAF profile, except 300 metres record.

Competition performances

• National Championships
  • 1st place Outdoor National Championship 2007 100 m - 10.33
  • 1st place Outdoor National Championship 2004 200 m - 21.63
  • 1st place Indoor National Championship 2009 60 m - 6.72
  • 1st place Indoor National Championship 2011 60 m - 6.65

• Olympic Games
  • Beijing 2008, 200 m (Heats - 21.46)

• World Championships
  • Berlin 2009, 100 m (Heats - 10.41 / Quarter Final - 10.40)
  • Osaka 2007, 200 m (Heats - 20.48 / Quarter Final - 20.82)

• European Championships
  • Barcelona 2010, 200 m (Heats - 20.87 / Quarter Final - 20.88)
  • Barcelona 2010, 4×100 m (Heats - 39.30 / Final (6th) - 38.88)

• European Indoor Championships
  • Turin 2009, 60 m (Heats - 6.78)
  • Paris 2011, 60 m (Heats - 6.65 / Semi-Final - 6.66)

• World Junior Championships
  • Grosseto 2004, 100 m (Heats - 10.93)

• Lusophony Games
  • Macau 2006, 200 m (Final (2nd) - 21.92)
  • Lisbon 2009, 200 m (Final (1st) - 20.64)

• Universiade
  • Bangkok 2007, 100 m 7th place

References

External links

• Arnaldo Abrantes profile at IAAF