Portuguese athlete Cristiano Pinto Pereira secured two individual gold medals at the Virtus Cross Country World Championships in Italy, reaffirming his status as a dominant force in the sport.
Pereira successfully defended his long-distance title on Sunday in Arenzano, Italy. This victory followed his defense of the short-distance title the day before.
The consecutive wins make Pereira a two-time world champion in the 7-kilometer event. He completed the 7 km race in 22 minutes, 56 seconds.
The Virtus International Federation described Pereira as “one of the best long-distance athletes in history” for these competitions.
In the long distance event, Pereira finished 20 seconds ahead of Spain’s Raúl Martínez. Another Spanish athlete, Adrian Parras, secured third place, 3 seconds behind Martínez. The Spanish duo reversed their finishing positions from the previous day’s race.
Pereira also helped Portugal earn a collective silver medal in the long distance team standings. This matched their team finish from the short distance event.
Portugal’s team accumulated 14 points for their second-place finish, while Spain won the team title with 10 points. Other Portuguese athletes contributing to the national silver included Cristiano Silva Pereira, who placed fourth in 23 minutes, 45 seconds, and Leandro Pereira, who finished ninth in 24 minutes, 42 seconds.
Additional Portuguese finishers included Luís Pimentel and Leonel Alves, who were 16th and 17th respectively, both completing the course in 25 minutes, 19 seconds. Paulo Benevente finished 20th with a time of 26 minutes, 3 seconds.
Virtus competitions are specifically organized for athletes with intellectual disabilities.