Isaquias Queiroz already looking to 2023 for a place in the Olympic Games

The pilotage-sponsored athlete resumes his participation in competitions after winning the gold in Tokyo

After around two and a half months resting and with no training after the gold medal in the Tokyo Games, canoeist Isaquias Queiroz is again competing, firm in his resolve to become Brazil’s top athlete. Currently he has won one gold, two silver and one bronze medals, behind Robert Scheidt and Torben Grael, with five medals each. To achieve his goal of two more gold medals, Isaquias Queiroz knows that the 2024 Paris Games will be his last, since he believes he will no longer be in conditions to compete in Los Angeles in 2028.

This journey starts with the 2023 Canoeing World Championship, the first chance to guarantee a place for Paris. Next are the Pan-American Games, which also credits a place for the Olympics. Isaquias will again strive for the gold in the C1 1000 meters, and the double C2 500 meters, the competition that will replace the C2 1000 meters. This year he was first in the Brazil Cup (C1 1000 meters, C1 500 meters and C2 500 meters). However, in the World Cup he finished second (C1 500 meters) and sixth (C1 1000 meters). In the 2022 World Games, he won gold (C1 500 meters) and silver (C1 1000 meters). In October he will compete in the XII South American Games.

“After the 2023 World Championship, we will take a closer look at my performance for the Olympics. Our aim will always be the World Championship. Next year we will progress even further to guarantee the direct place for Paris”, states the athlete, sponsored by Brazilian Pilotage since the preparatory cycle for the Tokyo Games.

With championships in different regions and outside Brazil, he could encounter various scenarios in the competitions. Some sports benefit from performing in controlled environments, inside gymnasiums and swimming pools, but canoeing is fully impacted by environmental conditions, especially from the wind.

“When you start you can only row from one side. I row on the right. When the wind blows from the left, it is as if you’re dropping out of the race. It is almost impossible to win that way. You have to control the canoe, pull it, it’s really tough”, Isaquias comments. He always keeps on training even in poor conditions.

In Tokyo the wind helped him in the semi-final and eventually his main rival, the German Sebastian Brendel, who rows on the left, lost his place in the final. In the final, the lack of wind levelled the playing field, projecting the preparation of Isaquias Queiroz to victory. A few days earlier, he and Jacky Godmann didn’t have the same luck with the wind in the C2 1000 meters. Even so, they came in fourth.

Isaquias Queiroz is accustomed to the high temperatures in Brazil and at the Lagoa Santa training center in the state of Minas Gerais, and he acknowledges the difficulty in cold climates. Because his training is always very intense, the medal winner’s immunity is impaired, and he catches a cold when traveling. Moreover, colder temperatures require more clothes, which are a hindrance when rowing.

“The best thing is for me to compete in a country with plenty of sunshine. Then I can say to the others: now you’ll feel what it’s like to row a thousand meters under a hot sun”, he jokes.

The 28-year-old athlete is already thinking of the end of his Olympic career. Concerning the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games, he says he will no longer be in ideal conditions to compete:

“Although I‘ll still be young, in canoeing we start and finish early. It’s a sport that demands a lot from the body, knees, backbone and shoulders.“

Missing the family is also a burden. Since he began very early and gave up many things (he was 15 years old when he joined the Team Brazil), he misses the social life and his family.

“I want to enjoy my family more and live a little of my own life. My life has been very much sport driven. So, after the Olympics I’m going to enjoy what I’ve created.”

Isaquias Queiroz intends to enjoy his legacy, perhaps encouraging some athletes At first, he doesn’t want to be a coach because of the intense routine it would entail but is grateful to everyone who has supported him and accompanied him in this process.

“Without my coaches, partnerships and sponsors, I wouldn’t be the guy that everyone knows.”

According to this Bahian from Ubaitaba, the sponsors’ collaboration allows him to focus on his training and gives him and his family greater quality of life.

“Having a sponsor gives me peace of mind. I have a son who needs to study and have healthy food that I never had. It’s much easier to continue training and being dedicated to winning medals.”

Sul Export

Pilotage Director Defends Port Planning

Pilot Marcio Fausto, technical director of Brazilian Pilotage, was one of the speakers of the Sul Export panel who discussed the formation of logistic corridors and the development of access to ports in the region. The event was held on May 16 to 17 in Florianópolis. Marcio Fausto defended the importance of port planning based on the recommendations of the World Association for Water Borne Transport Infrastructure (Pianc): "We hope to adapt the access; namely, that the engineering projects adopt good international practices, maintain the design of the channel and expedite problem-solving, such as silting, shipwrecked hulls and defective signage. Unfortunately, this is not our reality. Pilotage adapts and becomes part of the solution".

Condolences

DEEPEST SYMPATHY FOR THE DEATHS OF COMMANDER PEDRO LUPPI, ADMIRAL TARCÍSIO PEREIRA AND PILOT VITOR EMANOEL DE CASTRO

The last four months have been of deep sorrow for the pilotage. In July, Navy Captain Pedro Luppi died, executive secretary of Barra do Rio Grande Pilotage (Rio Grande do Sul-RS), former captain of the Rio Grande do Sul ports. In August, Admiral Tarcísio Jorge Caldas Pereira passed away, advisor to the National Pilotage Council in Brasilia, pilotage representative on the Managing Board of the Instituto Brasil Logística (IBL), and former director of the National Agency for Waterway Transportation (Antaq Nacional Agência de Transportes Aquaviários). That same month, Rio de Janeiro Pilotage lost pilot Vitor Emanoel Costa de Castro, after 36 years of exemplary work. Brazilian Pilotage offers its deepest sympathy to the families and friends of these professionals held so dear to the maritime community.

Rescue

Bahia Pilotage Performs

Four Rescues In Todos Os Santos Bay

Between May and August, Bahia Pilotage contributed to four rescues in Todos os Santos Bay, fulfilling every seaman's duty and the profession’s legal obligation. In May, the crew of the pilot boat saved a man who was drowning near Monte Serrat Point. In July, two crew members of a yacht that had capsized were rescued. In August, two incidents came in quick succession. When they were finishing towing a vessel that was drifting near Itaparica Island, the pilotage crew sighted a canoe in trouble navigating, and returned immediately to tow it to Bom Despacho terminal.

Third Edition Of Maritime Procedural Law

Launch of the book by the Rio de Janeiro pilot, Dr Matusalém Gonçalves Pimenta, at the Rio de Janeiro State School of Magistrates (Emerj). In its third edition, Maritime Procedural Law updates the changes sedimented after the new 2015 Civil Procedure Code. In addition, it includes proposals for the Maritime Court, such as a change in its rules of procedure to create a higher body in court, so that the person judged has the right to appeal. Prof Matusalém Gonçalves Pimenta also makes an up-to-date evaluation of the shipwreck of the cruise ship Costa Concordia, which occurred off the Italian coast in January 2012.

Bad Weather

Pilot Stations Minimize Cyclone Economic Effects In The South

In May, pilot stations in the Southern region of Brazil contributed to minimizing the effects of the Yakecan cyclone on port operations, thus mitigating economic losses. Predicting the arrival of bad weather that would lead to traffic restrictions in every port, the pilot stations joined with the Maritime and Port Authorities, bringing forward maneuvers and continuously assessing the conditions of the access channels, in order to attenuate the impacts on the logistics workability of the port complexes.