Fernando Ismael Fernandes Pimenta (, born 13 August 1989) is a Portuguese sprint canoeist who has won multiple medals at the

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a multi ...

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and

European championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

. At club level, he represents Benfica.

Career

Pimenta has competed since the late 2000s. His first major result came at the 2010 World Championships in

Poznań Poznań () is a city on the River Warta in west-central Poland, within the Greater Poland region. The city is an important cultural and business centre, and one of Poland's most populous regions with many regional customs such as Saint Joh ...

, Poland, when he won the K-2 500 metres silver medal together with João Ribeiro. One year later, he contributed to the Portuguese K-4 1000 metres gold medal at the

European Championships The European Championships is a multi-sport tournament which brings together the existing European Championships of some of the continent's leading sports every four years. The inaugural edition in 2018 was staged by the host cities of Berlin, ...

in Belgrade, Serbia, and claimed a bronze in the K-1 1000 metres. Together with Emanuel Silva, he won the silver medal in the K-2 1000 metres event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, which was Portugal's only medal at these Games. In 2013, Pimenta won multiple medals in international events, namely two silvers (K-1 5000 metres and K-4 1000 metres) at the

, held in Portugal's

Montemor-o-Velho Montemor-o-Velho () is a town and municipality of the Coimbra District, in Portugal. The population of the municipality in 2011 was 26,171, in an area of 228.96 km². History In 711, the Arab occupation of the Iberian Peninsula began. Mont ...

racing course, and two golds (K-1 500 and 1000 metres) at the

Summer Universiade The Universiade is an international multi-sport event, organized for university athletes by the International University Sports Federation (FISU). The name is a portmanteau of the words "University" and " Olympiad". The Universiade is referr ...

Kazan Kazan ( ; rus, Казань, p=kɐˈzanʲ; tt-Cyrl, Казан, ''Qazan'', IPA: ɑzan is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Tatarstan in Russia. The city lies at the confluence of the Volga and the Kazanka rivers, covering ...

. The following year, he secured his second world championship medal in Moscow, after a runner-up finish in the K-4 1000 metres event. At the

Brandenburg Brandenburg (; nds, Brannenborg; dsb, Bramborska ) is a state in the northeast of Germany bordering the states of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern, Lower Saxony, Saxony-Anhalt, and Saxony, as well as the country of Poland. With an area of 29,480 square ...

, Germany, Pimenta finished again in the top-three places of the K-1 5000 and K-4 1000 metres, taking a bronze medal in both events. Pimenta participated in the inaugural edition of the

European Games The European Games is a continental multi-sport event in the Olympic Games, Olympic tradition contested by sportsperson, athletes from European nations and several European Olympic Committees#Notes, transcontinental countries. The Games were ...

, in Baku, Azerbaijan, where he became the first Portuguese sprint canoeist to win a medal in this competition, after finishing second in the K-1 1000 metres event; a day later, he added another silver medal in the K-1 5000 metres. At the

World Championships A world championship is generally an international competition open to elite competitors from around the world, representing their nations, and winning such an event will be considered the highest or near highest achievement in the sport, game, ...

Milan Milan ( , , Lombard language, Lombard: ; it, Milano ) is a city in northern Italy, capital of Lombardy, and the List of cities in Italy, second-most populous city proper in Italy after Rome. The city proper has a population of about 1.4 ...

, Pimenta won the K-1 1000 metres bronze medal – his third medal at this level – and secured his country's qualification for this event at the 2016 Summer Olympics in

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro ( , , ; literally 'River of January'), or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of the same name, Brazil's List of Brazilian states by population, third-most populous state, and the List of largest citi ...

. In 2016, Pimenta won his first individual continental titles after taking the K-1 1000 and 5000 metres gold medals at the

Moscow Moscow ( , US chiefly ; rus, links=no, Москва, r=Moskva, p=mɐskˈva, a=Москва.ogg) is the capital and largest city of Russia. The city stands on the Moskva River in Central Russia, with a population estimated at 13.0 million ...

. At the Olympics, he missed the medal places, finishing 5th and 6th in the K-1 1000 metres and K-4 1000 metres finals, respectively. The following year in July, he defended his European K-1 1000 metres title in

Plovdiv Plovdiv ( bg, Пловдив, ), is the second-largest city in Bulgaria, standing on the banks of the Maritsa river in the historical region of Thrace. It has a population of 346,893 and 675,000 in the greater metropolitan area. Plovdiv is the c ...

, but lost the K-1 5000 metres crown to his German rival Max Hoff. However, the following month, Pimenta would beat Hoff in a sprint finish for the K-1 5000 metres gold medal at the

in Račice, to win his first individual world title. On 5 March 2018, he moved from Clube Náutico de Ponte de Lima to

S.L. Benfica Sport Lisboa e Benfica (), commonly known as Benfica, is a professional football club based in Lisbon, Portugal, that competes in the Primeira Liga, the top flight of Portuguese football. Founded on 28 February 1904 as ''Sport Lisboa'', B ...

. At the

2020 Tokyo Olympics The , officially the and also known as , was an international multi-sport event held from 23 July to 8 August 2021 in Tokyo, Japan, with some preliminary events that began on 21 July. Tokyo was selected as the List of Olympic Games h ...

, Pimenta won his heat, earning direct access to the semi-final which he also won with an Olympic Record. During the 3 August 2021 final, Pimenta won the bronze medal with faster time than in the previous round.

Orders

PRT Order of Prince Henry - Grand Officer BAR

Grand Officer of the

Order of Prince Henry The Order of Prince Henry ( pt, Ordem do Infante Dom Henrique) is a Portuguese order of knighthood created on 2 June 1960, to commemorate the quincentenary of the death of the Portuguese prince Henry the Navigator, one of the main initiators of t ...

Commander of the

Order of Merit The Order of Merit (french: link=no, Ordre du Mérite) is an order of merit for the Commonwealth realms, recognising distinguished service in the armed forces, science, art, literature, or for the promotion of culture. Established in 1902 by ...

Atletas condecorados com Ordem do Mérito
(in Portuguese)

References

External links

* *
Fernando Pimenta
at the

Olympic Committee of Portugal The Olympic Committee of Portugal ( pt, Comité Olímpico de Portugal ; acronym: COP) is a non-profit organisation of public utility, which serves as the National Olympic Committee (NOC) for Portugal. It was founded on October 26, 1909, to ens ...

Fernando Pimenta
at the Portuguese Canoeing Federation {{DEFAULTSORT:Pimenta, Fernando 1989 births Living people People from Ponte de Lima Portuguese male canoeists Commanders of the Order of Merit (Portugal) Olympic canoeists for Portugal Olympic silver medalists for Portugal Olympic bronze medalists for Portugal Olympic medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2012 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2016 Summer Olympics Canoeists at the 2020 Summer Olympics Medalists at the 2020 Summer Olympics European Games silver medalists for Portugal European Games medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2015 European Games ICF Canoe Sprint World Championships medalists in kayak Medalists at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Championships Competitors at the 2018 Mediterranean Games Mediterranean Games silver medalists for Portugal S.L. Benfica (canoeing) Mediterranean Games medalists in canoeing Canoeists at the 2019 European Games Golden Globes (Portugal) winners Universiade medalists in canoeing FISU World University Games gold medalists for Portugal Medalists at the 2013 Summer Universiade Sportspeople from Viana do Castelo District Canoeists at the 2023 European Games