Lusophone Olympians

Brazil
Rebeca Andrade was the first Brazilian woman to win a gold medal for gymnastics with her performance on the vault. Along with Ítalo Ferreira (surfing), Ana Marcela Cunha (marathon swimming), the men’s soccer team, Isaquias Queiroz (canoeing), Hebert Conceição (boxing), and the duo of Martine Grael and Kahena Kunze (sailing), Brazil won seven gold medals in the 2020 Olympics, tying their record year of 2016 (at home). But they actually won more medals this year (21) than in the previous Olympics (19), achieving that with 302 competitors, compared to 465 in Rio.

From a translation perspective, some interesting tidbits from Brazil’s run:

• While there’s no mystery to English speakers in the Portuguese word for the sport that Rebeca Andrade participates in (ginástica), the event she won (salto sobre a mesa) translates literally as “jump on the table.”

• Ana Marcela Cunha’s sport (natação) and event (maratona aquática) seem somehow more elevated when translated literally: “natation” technically exists in English, but obviously everyone says “swimming” and “aquatic marathon” sounds more interesting than “marathon swimming.”

• Isaquias Queiroz competed in the “sprint” side of canoeing, which in Portuguese is canoagem de velocidade, literally “speed canoeing.”

• Some of the sports seem more friendly and approachable in their Portuguese versions, which are shorter:

  • Hebert Conceição took home the gold in the middleweight (peso médio) category of boxe (boxing)

  • Brazil won three silver medals in skate (skateboarding).

• The American influence on that last sport is clearly evident in the fact that, in Portuguese, the events that Brazil won silver skateboarding medals in are called street and park. (Those are definitely not Portuguese words. Portuguese didn’t even have a “k” in it until 1990.)

• Brazil won two bronze medals (of the 8 total bronzes it won) in atletismo, which sure looks like “athleticism” but is actually “track and field.”

• One of those two bronzes, won by Thiago Braz, was for salto com vara, which literally could translate as “jump with a stick” but is the “pole vault.”

Portugal
Portugal sent 92 athletes to Tokyo and won four medals:

• Pedro Pichardo won gold in the triple jump (salto triplo or triplo salto).

• Patrícia Mamona won silver in the same event.

• And Portugal won two bronze medals, one in judo (judô - that accent mark moves the stress to the second syllable) and one in canoeing.

• 45-year-old João Vieira from Portugal came in 5th in the 50 km speed walking competition, or as it’s called in Portugal, marcha (“march”).

Other Lusophone countries
No other Portuguese-speaking countries won medals in Tokyo, but several “Luso-athletes” competed.

• Guinea-Bissau (Guiné-Bissau)

  • Bissauan Seco Camara (who would be “Dry Chamber” or perhaps “Dry Camera” if names were things that got translated) set a personal best in the 100 meters, but did not advance out of his heat.

  • Guinea-Bissau also sent one judoka and two wrestlers who did not advance for a total of four athletes.

• East Timor (Timor-Leste)

  • Timor sent two swimmers and one 1500 meter runner to Tokyo.

• São Tomé and Príncipe (São Tomé e Príncipe, only the conjunction is usually translated but the two islands that make it up would translate as “Saint Thomas” and “Prince”)

  • The tiny (<200,000 residents) country sent D’Jamila Tavares to run the 800 meters. She set a personal best, but did not advance.

  • São Tomé also sent Roque Ramos and Buly Triste, who won the gold medal at the 2019 African Games, to compete in the canoe sprint. They qualified for the quarterfinals.

• Mozambique (Moçambique)

  • Mozambique sent a total of 10 athletes: one 400-meter hurdler, 2 boxers , one canoe sprinter, one judoka, 3 sailors, and 2 swimmers.

  • Hurdles are barreiras in Portuguese, literally “barriers.”

  • On of Mozambique’s boxers is a “welterweight.” No need to translate that, though, because the rest of the world uses specific weight limits rather than words to divide boxing up. Welterweight is up to 69 kg.

• Cape Verde (Cabo Verde)

  • Cape Verde sent 6 athletes in total: one 400-meter hurdler, one boxer, one rhythmic gymnast, one judoka (who won her first round), and two swimmers.

  • The Cape Verdean (caboverdiano) boxer is a “flyweight” but as noted above, Brazil uses numbers rather than words to classify boxers. Flyweight, the lightest class, is up to 52 kg.

• Angola

  • In the 100-meter hurdles, Aveni Miguel heartbreakingly false started and was disqualified.

  • The 14 members of the Angolan women’s handball (oddly handebol in Brazil, andebol in Portugal and Lusophone Africa) team were 1-3-2 in group play and did not advance, although they did beat the hosts.

  • Angola also sent one judoka, two swimmers and two sailors (for a total of 20 competitors).