2018 José Ramalho - Portugal

José Ramalho (Portugal) – Nominee for 2018 Sportsman of the Year

Born: 1982, Represents: Portugal, Sport: Canoe Marathon

Major Results:

• Five Consecutive European Canoe Marathon Championship Titles (2014-2018)
• 2018 - Gold at ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup, Portugal
• 2018 - 6th at Canoe Marathon World Championships, Portugal (see text below)

With five consecutive European Canoe Marathon Championship titles under his belt, plus a decisive win at the 2018 World Cup, marathon paddler José Ramalho has been on a winning streak for the last few years.

In May 2018, Ramalho thrilled the home crowd with a stuning win at the ICF Canoe Marathon World Cup at Viana Do Costelo, emerging unscathed in conditions that claimed many of the top paddlers, most succumbing to rough swell which filled their boats with water. “This was a really, really hard race,” he said. “There were big waves, lots of current—I think that was the deciding factor today.”

On the heels of the World Cup, Ramalho went on to defend his European Champion title in July, coming into the final portage with a bit of an advantage he was able to retain until the end.

But for all his successes on the water, he may well be proudest of his sixth-place finish at the 2018 Marathon Worlds in Portugal. It was an emotional race for the capacity Portuguese crowd, with local favorite Ramalho damaging his boat early in the race and having to stop for repairs. But despair soon turned to ecstasy for the fans, as Ramalho clawed his way back from a two-minute deficit to re-join the leading group with one lap to go. Although he was unable to catch the medalists in the final sprint home, he made a stunning recovery, crossing the finish line exhausted in sixth place.

TESTIMONIAL/QUOTE:

José Ramalho, in tears: "I knew the speed that I needed to recover, I was trained for that, I knew that, coming to the front group, it would be difficult to fight with them, because the power had gone all in the air, but the truth is that I tried, I did what I could It really was fantastic to hear all this audience cheering for me, but it did not work”.