Studying, training, winning. Around 90 young people, aged between 19 and 31, students from a wide range of academic fields (from Science and Technology to Health, as well as Law, Economics and Social Sciences and Humanities), have excelled throughout this academic year by winning medals in university sports competitions. This Monday, 8 June, they were received by the Rector of NOVA University Lisbon, Paulo Pereira, in an initiative that recognises and celebrates their performance, determination and commitment.
The Rector, Paulo Pereira, praised the excellent sporting results achieved, which make NOVA a benchmark university in education, but also in the personal development of each student. “These are results that fill us with pride, thank you very much and congratulations.”
On behalf of the students, Diogo Santos Costa commended the University not only for the sports merit scholarships it awards, but also for the support provided to the athletes. “It is an example and a reference,” he assured.
Currently pursuing a PhD at NOVA IMS — where he also completed his master’s degree — Diogo has built an outstanding record in university swimming. Representing NOVA, he has won 10 gold, 8 silver, and 2 bronze medals. This achievement is complemented by four collective national club titles: two in short course and two in long course competitions.
At the federated level, he also stands out with more than a dozen national records, several first-division national club championships, and three bronze medals at the World School Sport Championship, held in Brazil in 2019.
With the season still ongoing, NOVA has already achieved around ninety podium finishes in the National University Championships, across a wide range of sports, confirming the competitive consistency of recent years.
Overall, the university holds an impressive 2nd place, with a total of 80 medals, both individual and team, and ranks 4th in the University Clubs Trophy. However, this number may still increase, as the competitive calendar has not yet concluded: the National University Championships in orienteering, archery, karting and sailing are still to take place, with the latter scheduled for 13 and 14 June, at Lagos do Sabor, in Torre de Moncorvo.
In total, the strongest results are concentrated in three sports: swimming (28 medals), athletics (20) and gymnastics (11). These are followed by judo, with 7 medals, and taekwondo, with 6. Karate (4) and canoeing (3) also made relevant contributions to the overall performance.
In other sports, notable achievements include silver medals in futsal, rugby sevens and roller hockey, and bronze medals in 3×3 basketball and padel. There were also achievements in kickboxing and triathlon, with two medals in each sport.
In addition to individual results, the university secured team titles in judo and artistic gymnastics. There were also team podium finishes in swimming and athletics, as well as in karate and surfing. An outstanding season, also marked by new national university records in swimming, particularly by Ema Conceição, who set records in the 50, 100 and 200 metre freestyle events, and by Madalena Cerdeira, in the 100-metre breaststroke.
