Miguel Monteiro

Started: He took up athletics in 2014 at the Casa do Povo de Mangualde club in Portugal. (Athlete, 06 Nov 2019; andoportugal.org, 26 Apr 2018; mangualdeonline.com, 12 Jul 2016) Reason: His coach, Joao Amaral Mendes, encouraged his mother to get him involved. "I always liked to watch athletics on TV and to practise sports. I started with javelin and shot put, but I ended up adapting better to shot put, because javelin requires a lot of techniques." (ua.pt, 02 Mar 2021; record.pt, 05 Jan 2020; Athlete, 06 Nov 2019) Ambition: To compete at the 2024 Paralympic Games in Paris. (jn.pt, 11 Jul 2023) Milestones: His bronze medal in men's F40 shot put at the 2020 Paralympic Games in Tokyo was Portugal's first Paralympic medal in any shot put event class at the Games. (SportsDeskOnline, 21 Jul 2024) Awards: He received the Medal of Merit from the Portuguese Paralympic Committee for his performances in the 2022/23 season. (paralimpicos.pt, 09 Oct 2023) In January 2022 he was named Commander of the Order of Merit from the president of Portugal. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2023; universidade.fm, 12 Jan 2022) He was Portugal's flag bearer at the opening ceremony of the 2018 European Championships in Berlin, Germany. He was also named Newcomer of the Year in 2018 by the Sports Journalists Association in Portugal. (IPC, 20 Aug 2018; cnid.pt 24 May 2018; revistaatletismo.com, 24 May 2018) Additional Info: OTHER ROLES In June 2023 he was appointed president of the board of the general assembly at Aveiro Industrial Engineering and Management Association [AEGIA], a non-profit organisation for professional and students in the field of industrial engineering and management in Aveiro, Portugal. He previously held the role of vice president at the organisation. (LinkedIn profile, 01 Sep 2023)