Arnaldo Luís Isaías Abrantes (born 7 November 1986 in Cova da Piedade

Cova da Piedade

Cova da Piedade is a Portuguese parish, located in the municipality of Almada and founded on February 7, 1928. It has a population of 21,154 inhabitants and a total area of 1.28 km². With a population density of 16,527 inhabitants/km², the parish is one of the most densely populated in the...

), is a Portuguese

Portugal

Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic is a country situated in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of Europe, and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the West and South and by Spain to the North and East. The Atlantic archipelagos of the...

 track and field

Track and field

Track and field is a sport comprising various competitive athletic contests based around the activities of running, jumping and throwing. The name of the sport derives from the venue for the competitions: a stadium which features an oval running track surrounding a grassy area...

 sprinter, specializing in the distances of 100 metres

100 metres

The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...

 and 200 metres

200 metres

A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...

. He also competes in the 4×100 metres relay. His father, Arnaldo Abrantes Sr., was also a sprinter.

Career

He began running at the Núcleo Desportivo Juvenil do Laranjeiro in 2002 where he remained until 2003. He joined Sporting Clube de Portugal in 2004, but left in 2010 (competing only for the Portuguese team).

At the 2007 Summer Universiade

Athletics at the 2007 Summer Universiade

The athletics competition at the 2007 Summer Universiade was held in the Main Stadium at Thammasat University in Bangkok, Thailand, between 9 August and 14 August 2007.-Men's events:-Women's events:-Medals table:-Results:******...

 he managed a sixth place in the final 100 m, with a result of 10.53 seconds. He participated in the 2007 European Athletics U23 Championships

2007 European Athletics U23 Championships

The 6th European Athletics U23 Championships was held between 12 and 15 July 2007 in the Gyulai István Athletic Stadium in Debrecen, Hungary.- Men :- Women :-Medal table:-References:General*-External links:**...

 in Debrecen and was a semi-finalist in both the 100 and 200 m, before going on to claim a silver medal

Silver medal

A silver medal is a medal awarded to the second place finisher of contests such as the Olympic Games, Commonwealth Games, and contests with similar formats....

 in the relay with colleagues Dany Gonçalves, Ricardo Martins and Yazaldes Nascimento. At the Osaka 2007 World Athletics Championships, Abrantes reached the quarter-finals of the 200 m. Besides getting the entry standards to the Olympic Games 2008 also beat his personal best and national under-23 record of 20.48 seconds.

He qualified to compete at the 2008 Summer Olympics

2008 Summer Olympics

The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...

, but was eliminated in the opening rounds. The following year he improved his 100 m personal best to 10.19 seconds (the third best time by a Portuguese sprinter ever). He achieved a second place finish at the European Team Championships

European Team Championships

The European Team Championships is an athletics competition, between different countries of Europe, over 4 leagues. It is the successor of the former Europa Cup.-History:...

 in the 200 meters, behind only to Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers

Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...

. At the Portuguese Championships he was runner-up to Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, born 22 November 1978 in Nigeria and a Portuguese citizen since 2001, is a sprint athlete specializing in 100 metres and 200 metres. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds...

 with a wind-assisted run of 10.13 seconds. He was not in shape to compete in the 200 m at the 2009 World Championships in Athletics

2009 World Championships in Athletics

The 12th IAAF World Championships in Athletics were held in Berlin, Germany from 15–23 August 2009. The majority of events took place in the Olympiastadion, while the marathon and racewalking events started and finished at the Brandenburg Gate....

, but he did run in the national relay team.

2010

Slightly above their personal records, he managed to get the entry standard to participate in the European Championships of Barcelona. Participated in the 200 meters reaching the semi-finals. In the 4x100 meter relay, despite not having won a medal, along with fellow Ricardo Monteiro, Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, born 22 November 1978 in Nigeria and a Portuguese citizen since 2001, is a sprint athlete specializing in 100 metres and 200 metres. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds...

 and João Ferreira beat the national record to 38.88 seconds. It was the first time the Portuguese team performed the relay race under 39 seconds.

2011

Having left the team Sporting Clube de Portugal, he began the 2010/2011 season as a individual athlete. Despite competing as individual, was in the National Indoor Championships who surprised everyone and everything by winning the first 60 m race to fellow countryman Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obikwelu

Francis Obiorah Obikwelu, born 22 November 1978 in Nigeria and a Portuguese citizen since 2001, is a sprint athlete specializing in 100 metres and 200 metres. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100 m set by a European competitor with a time of 9.86 seconds...

, with a personal best of 6.65 seconds.

In the 2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships

2011 European Athletics Indoor Championships

The 31st European Athletics Indoor Championships were held at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris, France, from 4 to 6 March 2011.A record high of 630 athletes, representing 46 countries, were entered into the three-day competition. Twenty-six track and field events were contested at the...

 in Paris, he qualified for the semi-finals to 6.65 (matching his personal best), but did not make the final race. He started the outdoor season on May 15 in the University National Championships, opening the season with 10.56 seconds. A week later, at the Meeting of Leiria, he won first place with 10.54 seconds. In early June, he participated in the International Flanders Athletics Meeting in Belgium. Faced in the 100 meters the world champion of 60 meters Dwain Chambers

Dwain Chambers

Dwain Anthony Chambers is an English sprinter of Afro-Caribbean descent. He has won medals on the international stage numerous times and is one of the fastest European sprinters in the history of recorded athletics. His primary event is the 100 metres sprint, in which he has the second...

, taking second place with 10.70 seconds and Chambers finished the race in 10.27 seconds – a heavy headwind of -2.3 m/s affected the race. Later in the same meeting, Arnaldo won the 200 meters in 20.90 seconds.

On July 3, Arnaldo Abrantes participated in the Meeting of Chaux de Fonds in the 200 meters finishing second with 20.61 seconds (wind: +0.8 m / s). This result achieved the entry standard for the 2011 World Championships in Athletics

2011 World Championships in Athletics

The 13th IAAF World Championships in Athletics was an international athletics competition that was held in Daegu, South Korea. It started on 27 August 2011 and finished on 4 September 2011....

 in Daegu and 2012 Olympic Games in London.

Personal bests

Event	Time (sec Second The second is a unit of measurement of time, and is the International System of Units base unit of time. It may be measured using a clock.... )	Venue	Date
60 metres 60 metres 60 metres is a sprint event in track and field athletics. It is a championship event for indoor championships, normally dominated by the best outdoor 100 metres runners. At outdoor venues it is a rare distance, at least for senior athletes...	6.65	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France	5 March 2011
60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles 60 metres hurdles is a distance in hurdling which is generally run in indoor competitions. It is equivalent with the first 60 metres including the first 5 hurdles of a standard outdoor hurdle race. The current women's and men's world records are 7.68 seconds and 7.30 seconds ,...	8.11	Alpiarça Alpiarça Alpiarça is a municipality in Portugal with a total area of 95.0 km² and a total population of 8,157 inhabitants.The municipality is composed of 1 parish, and is located in Santarém District.... , Portugal	22 January 2006
100 metres 100 metres The 100 metres, or 100-metre dash, is a sprint race in track and field competitions. The shortest common outdoor running distance, it is one of the most popular and prestigious events in the sport of athletics. It has been contested at the Summer Olympics since 1896...	10.19	Salamanca Salamanca Salamanca is a city in western Spain, in the community of Castile and León. Because it is known for its beautiful buildings and urban environment, the Old City was declared a UNESCO World Heritage Site in 1988. It is the most important university city in Spain and is known for its contributions to... , Spain	8 July 2008
110 metres hurdles 110 metres hurdles The 110 metres hurdles is a hurdling track and field event for men. It is incuded in the athletics programme at the Summer Olympic Games. The female counterpart is the 100 metre hurdles. As part of a racing event, ten hurdles of 1.067 metres in height are evenly spaced along a straight...	13.74	Paris Paris Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region... , France	29 July 2003
200 metres 200 metres A 200 metres race is a sprint running event. On an outdoor 400 m track, the race begins on the curve and ends on the home straight, so a combination of techniques are needed to successfully run the race. A slightly shorter race, called the stadion and run on a straight track, was the first...	20.48	Osaka Osaka is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe... , Japan	28 August 2007

• All information taken from IAAF profile.

Competition performances

• National Championships
  • 1st place Outdoor National Championship 2007 100 m - 10.33
  • 1st place Outdoor National Championship 2004 200 m - 21.63
  • 1st place Indoor National Championship 2009 60 m - 6.72
  • 1st place Indoor National Championship 2011 60 m - 6.65

• Olympic Games
  • Beijing 2008, 200 m (Heats - 21.46)

• World Championships
  • Berlin 2009, 100 m (Heats - 10.41 / Quarter Final - 10.40)
  • Osaka 2007, 200 m (Heats - 20.48 / Quarter Final - 20.82)

• European Championships
  • Barcelona 2010, 200 m (Heats - 20.87 / Quarter Final - 20.88)
  • Barcelona 2010, 4×100 m (Heats - 39.30 / Final (6th) - 38.88)

• European Indoor Championships
  • Turin 2009, 60 m (Heats - 6.78)
  • Paris 2011, 60 m (Heats - 6.65 / Semi-Final - 6.66)

• World Junior Championships
  • Grosseto 2004, 100 m (Heats - 10.93)

• Lusophony Games
  • Macau 2006, 200 m (Final (2nd) - 21.92)
  • Lisbon 2009, 200 m (Final (1st) - 20.64)

• Universiade
  • Bangkok 2007, 100 m 7th place

External links