Official! Varandas poaches Rui Costa ace for Sporting: Feeling great | OneFootball

Official! Tatjana Pinto will continue to represent Sporting. The 100 and 200 metres specialist has renewed her contract with the Lions after a top-level season and said she was particularly pleased to extend her link with the Club, after arriving from Rui Costa’s Benfica.

“I’m very happy, truly delighted. This past year has made a huge difference and I like continuing with the conditions Sporting provides. So, we move forward,” the athlete told the green-and-white media outlets.

The sprinter also highlighted the structure made available to her at Alvalade. “I feel very good at this Club, and that is very important for me personally. The overall conditions, Sporting is a very professional club in every aspect that matters, such as nutrition, physiotherapy, doctors, massage. Everything I need to reach the next level.”

Tatjana Pinto is also already looking ahead to the major goals of 2027. One of them is winning the European Champion Clubs Cup on the track, after Sporting finished in second place. “This past year, I think we were short by two or three points, so we’re going to fight again and this time, win,” she assured.

The World Championships, which will take place in China in September, are another target. “We’re going to start preparing now for next year, which I believe can be even better than this year. We’re progressing,” said the athlete, who gave 2026 a “fantastic assessment,” although she acknowledged that “there is still a lot to work on” and that “I’m still not where I want to be.”

Paulo Reis, Sporting’s athletics coordinator, also highlighted the sprinter’s performances. “Tatjana Pinto joined us last season and had a fantastic season. She broke the Portuguese 100 metres record, ran a 200 metres race in under 23 seconds, although with an illegal headwind, in a fantastic race.”

The Sporting official also revealed that the renewal is part of a long-term project. “She is renewing now with the goal of preparing for Los Angeles [the 2028 Olympic Games] and she is with us in that process, and she is certainly an athlete who, because of her versatility – she runs the 100 metres, the 200 metres, the 4x100 metres – ends up being a great asset to the team.”

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.