Fernando Pimenta

Pimenta has competed since the late 2000s. His first major result came at the 2010 World Championships in Poznań, 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 in Belgrade, Serbia, and claimed a bronze in the K-1 1000 metres.^[1] Together with Emanuel Silva, he won the silver medal in the K-2 1000 metres event at the 2012 Summer Olympics in London, which was Portugal's only medal at these Games.^[1]

In 2013, Pimenta won multiple medals in international events, namely two silvers (K-1 5000 metres and K-4 1000 metres) at the European Championships, held in Portugal's Montemor-o-Velho racing course,^[2] and two golds (K-1 500 and 1000 metres) at the Summer Universiade in Kazan.^[3] The following year, he secured his second world championship medal in Moscow, after a runner-up finish in the K-4 1000 metres event.^[3] At the European Championships in Brandenburg, 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, 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 in Milan, 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.^[3]

In 2016, Pimenta won his first individual continental titles after taking the K-1 1000 and 5000 metres gold medals at the European Championships in Moscow.^[4] 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.^[5][6] The following year in July, he defended his European K-1 1000 metres title in Plovdiv,^[7] but lost the K-1 5000 metres crown to his German rival Max Hoff.^[8] However, the following month, Pimenta would beat Hoff in a sprint finish for the K-1 5000 metres gold medal at the World Championships in Račice, to win his first individual world title.^[9] On 5 March 2018, he moved from Clube Náutico de Ponte de Lima to S.L. Benfica.^[10]

At the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, Pimenta won his heat,^[11] earning direct access to the semi-final which he also won with an Olympic Record.^[12] During the 3 August 2021 final, Pimenta won the bronze medal with faster time than in the previous round.^[13]