Sprinter Tatjana Pinto, known for her speed on the track, just shared some big news. The German athlete announced on social media this Thursday that she is close to getting approval to run for Portugal on the international stage. This could be a game-changer for Portuguese athletics.
Pinto, 33, has a strong connection to Portugal. Her father is Portuguese, and her mother is Angolan. She hasn’t competed for Germany since August 2022. This means she could wear the Portuguese colors as early as late August this year. That timing is perfect, potentially allowing her to compete in the World Championships in Tokyo.
But there’s a catch. To make it to Tokyo, Pinto needs to hit a qualifying time of 11.00 seconds. Or, she needs to earn enough ranking points. Right now, she hasn’t met either of those marks. Her fastest time this year is 11.33 seconds. When it comes to points, she has 1143. The current cutoff for athletes getting in by ranking is 1205 points. She’s close, but still has some work to do.
It’s not a secret that Pinto feels at home in Portugal. She regularly competes there for Benfica, a well-known club. Earlier this year, she won the 60 meters indoor race in Pombal. She clocked a fast time of 7.29 seconds, beating Lorène Bazolo, who finished in 7.31 seconds. Interestingly, Bazolo is already provisionally qualified for international events based on her 1235 ranking points. This shows the caliber of competition Pinto is facing and her ambition.
