Brazil’s Isaquias Guimaraes Queiroz has expressed his desire to achieve two gold medals at the Paris 2024 Olympics and prolong his career to Los Angeles 2028.
Speaking ahead of his third appearance at the Games, Queiroz is in good spirits as he makes his final adjustments on the water before competing in Paris in two weeks’ time.
Queiroz will arrive in the French capital as the defending champion in the men’s canoe single 1000m following his success at Tokyo 2020.
The 30-year-old picked up two silvers and one bronze at his home Games in Rio de Janeiro in 2016 before making more history in 2021 when he became the first Brazilian paddler to win Olympic gold in canoeing.
He admits he feels “great responsibility” but with his family joining him in Paris, the father of two is confident he can deliver on the biggest stage again.
“I feel very mature, and I can savour the Olympic period more than before,” said Queiroz.
“I think it will be very good in Paris and especially because I'll have my wife and two children by my side watching me closely, something I couldn't have in Tokyo.
“I'll be fighting on the water, and I'll have even more energy to play on the paddles knowing that they'll be right next to me.”
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As well as looking to defend his C1 1000m crown, Queiroz will team up with Jacky Jamael Nascimento Godmann in the men’s C2 500.
“We always want the biggest jump, and in this case it's two golds, in C1 and C2,” said Queiroz on his ambitions for Paris 2024.
“We're preparing for it, we're training for it.
“We're always looking for the best result, we hope we can achieve it.
“It's been hard work so far and I think it's possible.
“We're looking for it, we want it and we're going to fight to get it.
“We also have excellent athletes who want this position, but we're going to give them a lot of trouble.”
Querioz said he had previously felt that Paris 2024 could be his final Olympics, but he revealed that he now intended to continue for a further four years.
“The Isaquias of today is more mature,” said Queiroz.
“I'm now a father of two, so I think the focus has changed a lot.
“At the time in Paris I was already a big name in canoeing and now I know that I've grown a lot.
“For me, I always strive to surpass myself, to be better today than I was yesterday.
“I thought in Tokyo that Paris would be my last Olympics, today I think I can go to Los Angeles.
“Out of the water I'm already thinking about doing my socks off, investing in my future and also thinking about what life will be like after I finish my career as an athlete.”
Queiroz has been spending time in Portugal gearing up for the Games with the Brazilian team before heading over to Paris.
“We're doing very well, we're very prepared and we're fully focused on getting medals,” said Queiroz.
“I think it's going to be a great edition of the Olympic Games for me.
“We have a plan with coach Lauro Pinda, a working methodology and we stick to it.
“Of course, it's always necessary to change or improve and he's done that, but we follow a working plan that has already given results since I started training with Jesus Morlan.
“We've adapted something for physical preparation and we're always looking to improve the quality of our strokes, but in general we stick to the same recipe that has given us good results.”
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